The Truth About Rogue
by Orange Lantern Tsume
Summary: Rogue isn't doing too good: She looks like the dead, eats & drinks little, and refuses help. But something darker is there, waiting to show her what she's really like. What's wrong with Rogue, and will she be saved? R&R! COMPLETE!
1. Pallid

The Truth About Rogue  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: I hope everyone likes this story as much as they did about my "Truth About Lance" fic! People seemed to think that one was okay.  
  
NOTE: You do not have to read "The Truth About Lance" in order to understand this fic. These two are entirely independent of one another, not linked in any way.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Chapter 1: Pallid  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Rogue groaned and rolled over, not wanting to get up despite the blaring alarm clock two feet from her head on the nightstand. Pulling the covers tight over her head, she desperately tried to get back to sleep.  
  
"Rogue!" Jean called through the door. "Come on, or you'll be late! You really better hurry!"  
  
Rogue ignored her fellow mutant, trying even harder to sleep. She seemed to have started wanting it more lately.  
  
The door opened with a muffled sound, due to the covers in Rogue's ears, and Jean stalked over to the bed. She grabbed what seemed to be the shoulder of her friend and shook it. "Rogue, wake up!"  
  
"Jean!" Rogue barked with sudden anger, shooting up instantly into a sitting position and glaring at Jean. "That was my breast!"  
  
Jean gaped for a second, and then apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't know!"  
  
"Don't do it again!" Rogue snapped. "Now get out so I can dress!"  
  
Jean made a hasty exit, and Rogue put on her usual attire. She caught her reflection in mirror, and straightened her hair some more.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Rogue was walking down the hall, hoping to drop off her History book before lunch, when someone grabbed her arm.  
  
"Hey!" she said indignantly.  
  
"Rogue, sorry, but did you know that you look rather pale today?" Kitty said. "I mean, unless that's some makeup you got on, I think you might be sick."  
  
"But I feel okay," Rogue said, letting Kitty steer her into the girls' bathroom and to a mirror.  
  
For the first time, Rogue actually took a good long look at herself. Her hair seemed the same, unchanged, but her eyes were a little different: They seemed to be sharper and they almost looked catlike. Her skin made her gasp slightly: It wasn't its usual creamy white color, but a pale white, bordering on unhealthy. She looked like she was becoming a ghost.  
  
"We should get you to the nurse's office," Kitty said.  
  
Rogue shook her head. "We can check on me when we get back home."  
  
Kitty shrugged and went with the decision.  
  
But by the end of school, several other people had told her that as odd as she seemed, her light skin seemed TOO light.  
  
Scott frowned at this all and peered at her closely.  
  
"You realize that I'm still going to be red through those glasses?" Rogue said helpfully.  
  
Scott shrugged. "Doesn't matter much. You'd still show up a little paler, and I can almost see it after wearing these so long."  
  
"Maybe you ARE sick, Rogue," Jean said. "Just let us run a few tests and we'll find out."  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes. "You don't need to be concerned about me so much."  
  
"You're our friend," Scott said seriously. "We have a right to be worried about your health."  
  
"I don't even feel sick!" Rogue said. "I'm fine."  
  
"Rogue, really, you're acting childish," Ororo frowned.  
  
Rogue raised an eyebrow and said with sarcasm, "Maybe because I AM a child?"  
  
"Rogue, please," Xavier said sternly. "Show some proper respect."  
  
"How can I when everyone is getting on my case?" Rogue said.  
  
"We are worried for you, and that validates it."  
  
Rogue scowled.  
  
"Now," Xavier continued, "we will have you checked out first thing tomorrow morning, as you have this Friday off for teacher in-service."  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Rogue woke late the next morning, fighting against Jean, Kitty, Evan, and Kurt's combined attempt to pull her from bed. In the end, she gave in, but acted very slowly, much to the disapproval of the senior X-Men.  
  
But Hank found nothing wrong with her, and gave her the usual clean bill of health.  
  
"I expect she just needs a bit more sun," he said to Xavier after the examination.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Rogue was in her room, trying to study for an English quiz on Monday, when Kitty came in with two slices of pizza on her plate.  
  
"Rogue, want some?" she said invitingly. "It's got your favorites: Anchovies and mushrooms and g---"  
  
"Kitty, I'm trying to study," Rogue said stiffly.  
  
But Kitty didn't seem to take the hint. She sauntered over like a horny wife in need of tender loving from her man, and thrust the piece under Rogue's nose, the toppings skimming the tip of the cartilage structure. "Have some!" she said cheerily.  
  
But Rogue had reacted oppositely: She threw herself back, clutching her face and screaming, "Kitty, get that away from me!" as best she could, though it came out a little muffled, what with her hands on her mouth.  
  
Kitty looked perplexed and regretting, so she did as told, taking her food back to the kitchen.  
  
Logan was there, having his usual Miller Lite alone. "What's wrong, Half- Pint?"  
  
"Rogue. She totally freaked out when I tried to give her favorite style of pizza to her in our room."  
  
Logan raised an eyebrow. "Maybe she was just in a different mood."  
  
Kitty snorted. "Yeah, and I'm Prime Minister of Britain. She went nuts and screamed at me."  
  
Logan eyed Kitty. "I'm guessing you shouldn't have done what you did...which was?"  
  
"I kind of tried to force her to do it."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"I just shoved it under her nose and she went ballistic."  
  
Logan shrugged. "Shouldn't have done it."  
  
"I know!" Kitty snapped. "But I thought it might help with her pale complexion and all!"  
  
Logan said, "Half-Pint, just let things run their course, and Stripes will be fine soon enough."  
  
Kitty blinked. "Really?"  
  
"It happens to me."  
  
"But you have a healing factor."  
  
"That doesn't mean other people aren't stubborn and determined with what they do."  
  
********************************************************************  
  
It took a whole week, but Rogue was slowly turning paler and paler, and she stopped eating certain food, opting instead for liquids to sustain her. She tried to have some V8 in private and ended up spitting it out with a vengeance.  
  
Rogue didn't understand how this could happen. Was the stomach virus she possibly had going far enough to make her unable to do anything but drink a few types of liquids? In this world, anything was possible.  
  
Everyone kept getting on her case about how she now looked carved from marble, a fact she verified by looking into the mirror, although the light seemed to face her so that it was hard to see herself at first.  
  
But it was all true: She was so white she seemed to put even the best marble to shame.  
  
'What's wrong with me?' she asked herself. 'What is this thing? Is there even a cure?'  
  
Meanwhile, much to the worry of the others, her appetite became increasingly acute, as she now only drank a handful of beverage types: Soda, iced tea, Gatorade, and hot chocolate/chocolate milk.  
  
Rogue hardly noticed what she was doing for a couple days, until the professor had her examined again. This time, everyone was becoming very worried about her.  
  
"I just can't find anything, Charles," Hank said. "I've looked for every virus and disease there is, and unless this one is invisible, then something else is wrong."  
  
Xavier himself was puzzled as anything, and decided to try his own hand at helping Rogue.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Despite all the energy she had felt from the boost the drinks had given her a mere moment before, Rogue now relied upon Kitty and Scott to half carry her up the stairs. She was supported under each arm, and in no danger of touching them.  
  
"Rogue, you need to see a real doctor," Kitty said as she helped her best friend onto her bed. Scott left the two girls alone.  
  
Rogue shook her head. "No, I'll be fine."  
  
Kitty scoffed. "When, at your funeral? Rogue, please, we are all going nuts trying to figure out what's wrong with you, and you think this is going just swell!"  
  
"Kitty, turn off the light," Rogue mumbled, half asleep. "I'm tired."  
  
Kitty scowled but did as told.  
  
This was another problem that had arisen, and most likely from her lack of food and drink: Rogue was becoming increasingly tired, sleeping in class, at lunch, even staring into space during a couple of training exercises. Xavier decided it best if Rogue not take part in her mutant activities until after she had recovered from her mysterious ailment.  
  
Rogue was an enigma of a new order to the X-Men. She kept getting tired despite the fact that she slept in for four hours more than anyone else, including Bobby. She would close the curtains at the window and block out the sun to fall asleep easier, and she put a menacing sign on her door, which said, "Keep it down or I'll suck you dry through your skin."  
  
Kitty was forced to take any activities of hers elsewhere, almost afraid to go near Rogue for fear of enraging her. The others had learned to do the same, especially Bobby after making a bad joke about how she now resembled one of Dracula's daughters.  
  
Sitting in her room day in and day out, Rogue kept feeling a terrible, gnawing pain in her gut. It told her to get up, to go and find something to sate her appetite, but she didn't know what, and she was too tired to do it anyway.  
  
The hunger just kept growing, a yawning pit in her stomach, all-consuming and threatening to consume its host...  
  
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AUTHOR: God, I hope that was worth reading. If no one likes this, I swear I'll skip right to Kitty's fic.  
  
READ N REVIEW! 


	2. Hungry

The Truth About Rogue  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: THANKS for all the sweet reviews, all! I think this will have much more in it than the last "Truth" fic, but I think Kitty's will not be as explosive, sorry. Sometimes quality is far better than quantity, or whatever.  
  
TO Eileen: And here I thought you would never show up again. If I am not mistaken, you reviewed a story or two of mine. And still clueless, if I remember correctly.  
  
TO evilbon32: You make me laugh, mostly because your review was a tad silly.  
  
TO Rogue31: Glad you liked that line, as it was the only thing that could possibly describe Kitty's act.  
  
TO Sarah Coldheart: That outfit from Season One was for the play, property of the school's clothing department for plays and such. And I highly doubt "whore" was the word needed for that. Also, I will have her do your suggested action, but much later.  
  
TO Rogue: Don't you mean that YOU'RE that thing? (Pun intended).  
  
TO Lady MR: No room for the Raging Cajun yet, sorry, but maybe much later.  
  
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Chapter 2: Hungry  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Rogue slept deeply that night, replenishing her lost strength, as sleep does for everyone. She didn't dream, but enjoyed the warm, snug blackness that enveloped her entirely. It was so good here that she didn't want to leave, but knew she had to, as tomorrow was another school day.  
  
Distantly, she heard a chirping noise and wondered why birds were so damn annoying. It occurred to her that the Institute needed to soundproof itself, and soon, or its inhabitants would be getting a severe lack of sleep.  
  
Rogue...  
  
The Goth of Bayville twitched a little.  
  
Rogue...  
  
This time her name was said with a bit more insistence. Rogue had no idea what was going on, and she wished to be left alone for a long while. She rolled over and buried herself deeper in her covers.  
  
Rogue!  
  
The young mutant was becoming agitated now, and tried to force the restful darkness to return with a mental command, but to no effect.  
  
"Rogue, come on!" someone was yelling practically in her ear.  
  
Rogue grumbled and pushed the weight of the person away, only to have a much heavier weight press down on her person and jerk her out of bed. "Hey!" she growled.  
  
"Hey nothing, Stripes," Logan said. "You got fifteen minutes to get ready for school and eat and brush your teeth. No excuses." He stalked off to wherever, leaving Rogue to slump back into her comfy bed.  
  
"Rogue, like, come on already!" Kitty said, shaking her friend again. "If you miss school, the professor is seriously going to lecture you and put more restrictions on!"  
  
That worked better than Logan's speech, and Rogue grumbled something about brain-dissecting dimwits before dragging herself from bed to the bathroom.  
  
Rogue washed herself up and used cold water, hoping it would wake her up, but it hardly worked. Sleep was a stronger urge now, and she wanted so dearly to give in. But she would get in so much trouble.  
  
Dressed, the Goth rode to the High School in Scott's oh-so-precious car, stumbling along and being caught by Kitty, who helped her up the front steps.  
  
"Rogue, what's wrong with you?" Kitty asked, more worried than before, when Rogue's affliction had started to surface. "You can't even walk anymore!"  
  
Rogue turned her head to look at Kitty, her mouth open slightly. She didn't look at the face, but at the throat, so smooth and lovely, the perfect place to find sustenance---  
  
Kitty was scared by Rogue's eyes, which had gone from almost catlike to just plain animalistic, glinting golden with slit pupils. "Rogue?" Kitty asked with a trembling voice.  
  
Rogue blinked and then answered, "Just help me in, I'll be fine."  
  
"Like heck you will!" Kitty hissed. "Rogue, you really need to get some nourishment, or you might actually die! You haven't eaten or had a decent meal since before this all started!"  
  
Rogue nodded, and then leaned in, almost kissing Kitty's throat, its warmth calling to her---  
  
"Rogue!" Kitty gasped, abruptly pushing her away and trying not to be ungentle. "You could have drained me!"  
  
"Sorry," Rogue said, her mind heavy and blurred. She couldn't think straight, could only act on instinct.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Jean considered it a miracle that Rogue actually got through classes and reached lunch. Kitty was still using that permission form she had obtained to escort and assist Rogue, much to the chagrin of Principal Kelly.  
  
"Rogue, you look worse than anything," Jean said to her friend.  
  
Rogue didn't answer, simply sitting in her seat, eyes wide, leaning forward slightly. She was rigid, Jean noticed, and didn't seem fine.  
  
"Rogue, you should get something to eat," Scott said with a frown. "Even Hank eats more than you do, and he's always locked up in his lab."  
  
But Rogue just sat there, still the same. Jean felt a slight increase in her friend's odd behavior.  
  
"Here," Evan said as he sat down, holding his apple up to her face. "You can have this."  
  
Not a single person there expected what happened next:  
  
Rogue burst up from her seat, dashing over to the garbage bin with amazing life for someone in her condition, and threw up several times. The other mutants, along with everyone present, could only watch in total disbelief as Rogue kept her head down and regurgitated the contents of her stomach for several long minutes.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Rogue had to be taken back to the Institute after her little scene, and the others were all too eager to follow. The professor made them finish the school day first, however, deciding to let Logan, Hank, and Ororo help him treat Rogue.  
  
"I just don't get it, Chuck," Logan said as he watched the fire. "She isn't stopping her drop in liveliness, and it's starting to scare me. Girl is suffering from something only one person may have an answer for."  
  
Xavier raised an eyebrow. "Mystique? But Rogue is her adopted daughter. It would make little sense to put her through so much pain and suffering to simply call her back to the Brotherhood."  
  
"Or perhaps Magneto has something to do with this," Ororo suggested. "He did have her in his grip when Asteroid M was created."  
  
"I don't think so," Hank said as he strode in, holding some papers. "I think I might finally have a clue as to what's ailing our Goth."  
  
"Please, Hank, share with us," Xavier invited.  
  
"These numbers here show her blood sample when she was last checked up a long while back, about five months. This other paper shows the new sample, from after her affliction began and up till now."  
  
"What does it mean?" Ororo asked.  
  
"Simply, that Rogue is suffering from a steady and so far ceaseless drop in hemoglobin."  
  
"Is that real bad or what?" Logan asked, having no idea what he meant.  
  
"Very bad. Hemoglobin is vital for people to survive, and if Rogue loses any more, or all, of hers, it might prove fatal."  
  
"But how do we stop it?" Xavier asked.  
  
Hank shook his head. "I don't know."  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Rogue crawled down the stairs, almost drained of energy, and then proceeded to crawl to the kitchen. She forced herself to stand, and eventually opened the fridge's door. Ignoring the call for more sleep, she reached in and pulled out a large steak, which Logan had gotten earlier and hadn't yet cleaned properly.  
  
Not caring in the least for anyone walking in, Rogue began devouring the meat, which was still very rare.  
  
It felt like being alive again. Rogue could almost see the energy she had lost returning to her, making her less sleepy and satisfying most of her insatiable hunger.  
  
When she had finished, she went back to her room and fell back into bed slowly drifting off.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
"Chuck?" Logan said as he poked his head into the study.  
  
"Come in, Logan."  
  
The gruff man came over to the fire, where Xavier had been staring, sorting out his thoughts of his own.  
  
"I think we just had a development."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Rogue just ate my steak." He held up the bag he had put it in.  
  
Xavier blinked, surprised. "She ate it? But this doesn't make sense when keeping in mind that she hasn't eaten practically anything."  
  
"This steak was almost raw, Chuck, still bloody."  
  
Xavier gaped. "You meant that Rogue---?"  
  
"Is turning into some sort of monster? Maybe."  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
AUTHOR: Again, sorry for the wait, but I got into serious trouble with my parents and almost the cops (No kidding, people).  
  
READ N REVIEW! 


	3. Thirsty

The Truth About Rogue  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: Thanks for reviewing, all!  
  
TO me: And just why do you care so much? I want a real answer, pal.  
  
TO Eileen: "Monster" depends on your point of view.  
  
TO Sarah Coldheart: What the heck are "double chapters"?  
  
TO Sprite: Listen, 7-Up (No offense meant), but I'll tell that the next chapter and then a few others as best I can.  
  
TO The_golden_charmer: I haven't learned about hemoglobin for over a year, so I can't be sure if it IS strictly for plants, but I recall my Bio teacher saying something about people having it. And they mention it in human blood in Blade the movie.  
  
To klucky: What do you mean, "little baby thing n there"?  
  
TO evilbon32: I plan on having Rogue do far more than merely "raising hell".  
  
TO Lady MR: And if Gambit never shows? What do you plan to do then?  
  
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Chapter 3: Thirsty  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Rogue felt far more refreshed the next morning, her stomach settling down to manageable level after having totally digested the bloody steak. She got up, her muscles stiff and yearning for sleep still, and got dressed. She still had the chalk-white skin that had now given her the appearance of a ghost. Rogue hoped it would pass soon.  
  
Kitty was already at breakfast, but Rogue didn't feel like eating. Her hunger seemed to be evolving into a thirst that made her throat feel like sandpaper slowly grinding against itself. She had trouble talking, and had to force down her drink of soda, which she had loaded with sugar to keep herself active. The caffeine would add to the kick.  
  
Kitty was glad the Rogue could move almost normally now, but was still worried about Rogue's pale complexion. The Goth seemed to be as sick as ever, and Kitty's heart shuddered at the thought of what she was going through.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Still escorted by Kitty for almost a whole month now, Rogue made it to lunch, but only drank chocolate milk, eating nothing. She gulped the drinks down with three swallows each, her thirst sated for only a few moments with each one.  
  
Over with the Brotherhood table, the mutants were deep in conversation.  
  
"She's eating more than Blob," Pietro said. "I didn't know that was humanly possible!"  
  
"You think she's trying to get someone's attention by making a perfect figure?" Todd said. "She IS a little skinny."  
  
"Not as skinny as Pietro," Lance sniped. "It's weird, I agree. Rogue used to be the most normal of them, except for the whole skin-leech thing."  
  
"Maybe she's got another person in her head or something," Fred suggested. "Like a split personality."  
  
"Think we should try and find Mystique?" Lance asked. "She actually seemed to care about Rogue, unlike how she treated the rest of us."  
  
"No way," Pietro said flatly. "She's gone rogue herself, and won't give a crap about us."  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Market day came, and Scott checked over the list. Everyone had put their wants on it, and some had been crossed out.  
  
"Come on!" he called as he walked to the garage. Jean, Logan, Evan, Kurt, and Kitty were all going with him.  
  
Upstairs, Rogue was holding Kitty back for a moment.  
  
"Just get something for me," she practically begged.  
  
"You should get it yourself."  
  
"Kitty, people with think I'm a freak or something if I do."  
  
Kitty considered for a moment. "What do you want?"  
  
Rogue whispered in her ear and Kitty gasped, but agreed to get it.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
"Young man, no skateboards allowed!" the clerk said sharply to Evan.  
  
Evan groaned and put it back in the car before reentering the supermarket.  
  
Jean wandered down one aisle, looking for her preferred brand of shampoo. Scott was checking out a copy of Rolling Stone. Kurt was pretending he was famous, wearing a cool pair of sunglasses. Logan was in the liquor store next door. Kitty was at the meat area, trembling with nervousness.  
  
"What'll it be?" the butcher-type guy asked.  
  
"Um, could I have...?"  
  
Kitty asked her order, and the man raised an eyebrow. "You're a strange one," was all he said before getting her the order, and she promptly paid for it and left.  
  
As the gang lined up at the registers, Evan eyed Kitty. "Whatcha got there?" he asked, trying for a glance around her side.  
  
"Hey!" Kitty snapped, keeping him from looking.  
  
"Come on, Kitty," Kurt said. "Just show him and he'll lose interest."  
  
"No!" she said flatly.  
  
"No need to get all angry," Jean said. "Kitty, just do what they say and they'll be happy."  
  
"They weren't satisfied enough after seeing you in the shower," Scott laughed.  
  
Jean elbowed him in the ribs.  
  
"Just stop moving!" Evan said, still trying to see.  
  
"Like, go screw yourself!" Kitty barked, startling everyone.  
  
"Kitty, that was---" Jean began, but was cut off by an angry Kitty.  
  
"What I do is my business and I don't pry into you guys' lives! If I want to keep something to myself, then I'll keep it to myself! If you have a problem, go cry to the professor!" And with that, she stormed out.  
  
"Jeez," Evan whistled. "All that for just a peek."  
  
"You shouldn't have pushed her," Logan said. "Kitty got claws."  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Kitty could only stare as Rogue popped open the can and drank everything inside ravenously. It was clear that this was the type of drink she so badly needed to keep herself up and about, but it might not cure her.  
  
"Thanks," Rogue said after finished the beverage. "But I know I'll need more."  
  
"I can ask Lance for a ride sometime to the market, and we can pick some more up there," Kitty offered. Rogue was her best friend; she had to do everything she could for her.  
  
Rogue nodded. "I'd appreciate that. You think the Brotherhood is wondering about me?"  
  
"You used to be one of them, so yeah."  
  
"Let's hope they can handle me now."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Kitty, for God's sake, look at me! I'm pale as a ghost, and I keep getting thirsty, not to mention I don't eat much solid food anymore!"  
  
"No need to get nasty," Kitty said. "Rogue, just calm down. Everything will work out."  
  
"Sorry, but I just can't take this anymore. I need help, but there's no one who can help me."  
  
"What about Mystique?"  
  
Rogue paused, stunned that she hadn't thought of that before. "Yeah! She can do something!"  
  
It took a while, but the two girls finally found Mystique's emergency contact number in one of Rogue's old books from back down South.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
"...And she just snapped!" Evan was saying. "I could hardly believe that she would act like that when she's always the nice one."  
  
Xavier nodded. "Yes, I have been picking up new things lately. Kitty is apparently becoming very protective and fond of Rogue, but I don't know why."  
  
"Could she, you know...?" Jean suggested tentatively.  
  
"Kitty in love with Rogue?" Ororo said. She shrugged. "Anything is possible, and I won't go against either if they really are in love with each other."  
  
"Same here," Kurt agreed. "I'm fine with Kitty and Rogue being lesbian lovers."  
  
"I think it's fine," Logan said. "Half-Pint and Stripes deserve each other if you ask me."  
  
"I get the feeling those two are doing more than fingering each other, though," Scott said.  
  
"Scott!" Ororo said, surprised at his reference.  
  
"Just think," he went on. "Kitty was talking to Rogue before we left, and then Kitty buys something strange at the market. Now she's talking with Rogue again. That's a little odd."  
  
"Maybe she just connects to Rogue," Kurt suggested. "They sleep in the same room."  
  
"Weird, yeah," Evan said. "There ARE up to something."  
  
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AUTHOR: Sorry if it was short, and the Kitty-Rogue pairing thing is kind of cool, which is why I do it a lot.  
  
READ N REVIEW! 


	4. Honesty

The Truth About Rogue  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: Thanks to all reviewers!  
  
TO stupidx: Wait and see is all I can say.  
  
TO Lady MR: What exactly is femislash? I have an idea, but maybe you should explain. And I did NOT say no to Remy.  
  
TO me: Told us what? What's "big"?  
  
TO ALL: I might have to postpone "The Truth About Kitty" so that I get more reviews after writing what will hopefully be a major hit, "The Truth About Jean". I might come up with more and keep pushing Kitty back, but that's because I really want her fic to get tons of reviews. Sorry!  
  
ALSO: I might start writing "The Truth About Jean" sometime soon, after I plot out the chapters. It will be VERY interesting, so keep an eye out for it in the near future.  
  
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Chapter 4: Honesty  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The next morning, Rogue woke up significantly refreshed. Kitty had done a major favor by getting a can of pig's blood for Rogue to drink, since the Goth had figured that the blood from the steak had been what made her better. It was only simple logic that she needed blood to keep her fine nowadays.  
  
But that meant something horrible was happening to Rogue. The young mutant knew all about monsters and horror and the like, and was fairly certain that mutants notwithstanding, she was turning into a monster herself...maybe even a vampire.  
  
Rogue knew everything fit together for her to be a vampire: The need for blood, the pale complexion, the sleep, and the other strange stuff. But as real as it was, Rogue kept trying to deny it. She doubted there were such things as vampires, despite what was happening, and she kept pushing the possibility to the back of her mind.  
  
Dressed, she went down for breakfast, using every ounce of strength to walk upright. Despite the pig's blood, she was still thirsty, and her stomach was gnawing at her again. Kitty had promised to beg Lance to lend a hand, and the two would go pick up more today.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Scott was waxing his precious car when Rogue found him. He had his back to her, crouched down and absorbed with his task. She walked up behind him, and coughed to get his attention.  
  
Scott cried out in surprise and then got up. "Rogue, you spooked me. I didn't see you there."  
  
"Famous words," she rasped out, her throat still a little sore. "Where's Kitty?"  
  
"Alvers picked her up a while ago and they went somewhere. You need something?"  
  
She shook her head and left. Scott adjusted the mirrors to watch her go, a brief flicker of his old fondness of her from when she was with the Brotherhood flaring slightly---  
  
She wasn't there.  
  
Scott twisted around and looked, but saw Rogue merely disappearing around the doorframe.  
  
Heaving a sigh of relief, he got back to work. He mind was playing tricks on him, making him think that Rogue had no reflection. The old horror movies and stories and such were getting to him, what with Rogue's recent affliction.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
"Jesus!" Jean shrieked when Rogue tapped on her shoulder. "You scared the daylights out of me!"  
  
"No need to get all nasty," Rogue said sourly. "I was just gonna ask if you were done with the curler."  
  
"Why? You never curl your hair."  
  
Rogue narrowed her eyes, which were still possessed of slit pupils and glinting gold irises. "I curl the ends. How do you think they look like this?"  
  
"Sorry," Jean apologized, handing the curler over. She noticed she had dropped a pair of her panties on the floor and, blushing, bent down to pick them up.  
  
While Jean did that, Rogue plugged in the curler and it heated it swiftly. She got ready to use it---and then froze in total, shocked horror and disbelief.  
  
While she was standing next to Jean, and Jean had a reflection, Rogue did not. There was simply a blank space that existed where she was standing, and she could see everything behind her in perfect detail.  
  
Rogue looked quickly at Jean, who was still scanning the floor for any other dropped articles of clothing. The redhead paid her no heed, and Rogue wondered if her powers had suddenly mutated further, turning her invisible.  
  
Deciding to investigate, Rogue abruptly waved a hand in front of Jean's face, startling the girl.  
  
"Don't do that!" Jean said, before going back to looking around the floor.  
  
"Sorry," Rogue said weakly. She wasn't invisible, her powers hadn't mutated, and she had no reflection. She WAS turning into some sort of freak.  
  
Without a single word further, Rogue left the bathroom.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Evan made sure no one was looking when he gave a short upward hop, sliding his skateboard under him and then using the brief momentum to begin sliding down the banister of the staircase. The others would kill him, but he was already half-dead from boredom.  
  
He had just performed a jump at the bottom, launching himself into the air for a spinning nosegrab, when Rogue appeared in front of him. He slammed into her, a surprised yell coming from her mouth, and then they were on the floor.  
  
"Sorry," he started to say, but she was apparently too pissed to care for apologies.  
  
"Evan, what the HELL is wrong with you?" Rogue roared. "Who gave you the right to skateboard through the mansion?"  
  
"No one---"  
  
"Then why are you doing it?"  
  
"Uh---"  
  
"Are you stupid or something?"  
  
"Uh---"  
  
"Do you think I LIKE being slammed into?" she demanded.  
  
"No---"  
  
"What were you thinking? You could kill somebody with your godforsaken moronic stunts! You nearly got yourself killed like this before and now you want to do it again! What kind of a Neanderthal does that? Did your parents let you get away with this?"  
  
"No---"  
  
"Then what gives you the idea that you can get away with it here?"  
  
"Uh---"  
  
"Not another word!" She paused to take a deep breath. When she spoke again, it was quiet, deadly, and filled with pure venom. "Do not EVER do that again."  
  
And without another syllable, she stormed upstairs.  
  
Evan felt his stomach dissolve, and barely noticed the stares of curiosity from a few of the other mutants, who had been attracted by Rogue's outburst. The entire time, she had been bellowing at the top of her lungs, while Evan had squeaked like a mouse.  
  
It would have been comical if it weren't so blasted terrifying.  
  
But despite all that, Evan slowly realized that she had felt like ice when he had brushed against her. They hadn't touched skin, but the clothing did nothing to stop the frozen touch.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Lance stared at Kitty. "You got to be kidding."  
  
She shook her head. "Look, Rogue used to be with you guys. Yeah, she switched sides, but she went through some pretty bad stuff and that was why. Now things are getting really bad with her, and she needs help."  
  
"Then why not ask you guys?"  
  
"We have no clue what's up, except that she needs blood."  
  
"Have you even considered going to a blood bank?"  
  
"That would maybe send her into a feeding frenzy."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Kitty whispered, "She's starting to be like a real vampire. I don't know why, but it doesn't really matter. Rogue is experiencing some horrible stuff, and she really needs help with it. The problem is that we have almost no one to turn to except for Mystique."  
  
"Is that a long shot or something?"  
  
"Major long shot. Mystique is against the X-Men, duh, but Rogue's her daughter, although adopted."  
  
"Well, we better get Rogue her medicine before she gets restless."  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
The person finally picked up, and Rogue recognized Destiny's voice.  
  
"Hello, Rogue. I sense that you are in great turmoil---"  
  
"Can it," Rogue snapped. "I'm not in the mood. Where's Mystique?"  
  
Destiny sighed and there was a pause before Mystique began speaking. "Rogue, it's been a long time."  
  
"What's happening to me, Mystique?" Rogue bit out. "I have pale skin, I crave blood, I feel weak all the time, and as of late my reflection has skipped on me."  
  
"I can't say for sure, Rogue. You were already four when I adopted you and I hardly know anything at all."  
  
"Don't lie to me!"  
  
"I'm not," Mystique shot back, pained. "Rogue, I swear, I don't know anything about your family. Your parents just signed the papers anonymously and I took you in. They wished to remain unknown, and I couldn't learn anything more about them. They covered their tracks too well for even someone of my caliber to uncover them."  
  
Rogue groaned, letting the words sink in. "So basically I have no real past."  
  
"No. You're still my daughter."  
  
"Hardly," Rogue said bitterly. "That is, unless you fancy having a vampire for a kid."  
  
"Think about it, Rogue. If you were a pure vampire, you wouldn't survive in sunlight. You would have disintegrated on the spot."  
  
Rogue considered that. "Then I must be half. And it looks like the other side is surfacing. But why now?"  
  
"Like I'm supposed to know. Rogue, I really want to help you. I DO love you. I know I wasn't the best parent, but my past is not a pretty one, and at least I gave you one better than I have. Just let me try and help."  
  
Rogue hung up. Her head ached, and she started twitching. She could not believe that her entire world was coming to this: Her turning into a vampire because she never knew her real parents. At least Mystique was partly there for her, whereas her biological family had only left her a legacy.  
  
Rogue began sobbing uncharacteristically.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Ororo greeted Kitty and Lance when the girl was dropped off, saying goodbye to the young man.  
  
"So tell me," the wind-rider began, "what were you and Lance doing?"  
  
Kitty smiled sheepishly. "Nothing much. We haven't seen each other as much as we want to, so I kind of talked him into going for a spin."  
  
Ororo smiled kindly. "You're lying."  
  
Kitty's jaw dropped. "What?"  
  
Ororo frowned now. "Kitty, I am quite accomplished at telling when someone is lying through their teeth at me. What did you and Lance do?"  
  
"But really---"  
  
"Kitty, enough," the woman said sharply, silencing the girl. "I want the truth, and so will the others."  
  
"We went shopping," was the short answer.  
  
Ororo glowered at the young girl. "What did you get?"  
  
"I am not at liberty to say anything further," Kitty said stiffly, marching past Ororo and into the Institute.  
  
Stunned, the senior X-Man merely watched as Kitty walked away.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Xavier shook his head. "I for one am shocked at this behavior."  
  
Kitty was unfazed. "Ask someone else."  
  
Xavier frowned. "Kitty, I do not wish to involve your parents in this, but if I have to, then I will."  
  
"Go ahead, but I won't break a promise, and don't even THINK about snooping."  
  
"Oh come on," Evan complained loudly. "You and Rogue are up to something, and we all know it."  
  
"That's right, Kitty," Jean agreed. "Right now everyone has some pretty wild theories as to what you and Rogue do with each other."  
  
Kitty went bright red and, before anyone could react, shot up and slapped Jean across the face. Everyone simply stared, mouths open and some of them drooling, at the sight.  
  
Jean stood transfixed to the spot, not remotely moving to rub the pain away of to look back at Kitty, who was seething.  
  
Saying nothing, the phantasmal mutant girl stalked off to her room, and the others gradually came to life.  
  
"Jeez," Scott said. "I never thought Kitty would do that."  
  
"Tell me about it," Evan said softly. He was even more stunned than when Rogue had gone ballistic on him.  
  
"Do you think this means it's true, though?" Kurt asked tensely. "If Kitty did that, then maybe she was protecting Rogue's reputation as being alone or something."  
  
"Interesting theory, Kurt," Xavier nodded. "And one I must put thought into. Kitty has begun her own transformation, from a carefree honest girl to a devious young mutant in love. I dread the possibilities, all the mere implications of that statement."  
  
"But we still need to find out," Ororo said. "This is very important."  
  
"Something's happening, all right," Logan concurred. "And it's far bigger than all of us."  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
AUTHOR: I hope everyone liked that. I plan on answering some big/bigger questions in the next so many chapters and whatnot.  
  
READ N REVIEW! 


	5. Mother

The Truth About Rogue  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: Thanks for the reviews, all!  
  
TO me: Do you intend to stop asking about the cops, b/c I probably won't talk about it.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Chapter 5: Mother  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Rogue was starting to feel sluggish the next morning, so she decided to have another drink to keep her strength up. It might accelerate her affliction until she was a full-fledged vampire, but at least it solved the problem for a while.  
  
She dressed and then opened the can, downing it faster than she thought she could. Rogue had little doubt that her condition was becoming worse, partly due to the drinks in the first place, but there really was nothing to do about it.  
  
Sighing, she went downstairs. It was finally the weekend, and she could get some R & R at last. The others had been annoying her because of her sickness, and had been hounding Kitty day and night for answers to what was going on between Rogue and her.  
  
It disgusted Rogue that people she thought of as friends would do such things. Kitty just kept brushing them off, turning into the Ice Queen of the Institute. Rogue admired that kind of action, that Kitty was keeping her mouth shut so tight.  
  
Rogue rolled her tongue in her mouth and tasted a few traces of the blood, savoring the sensation. She knew her desire would escalate, but she was fine for right now.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Mystique wasn't Rogue's real mother, but more of a parent than her real family had ever been. She hadn't abandoned Rogue in some adoption center as a small child. True, Mystique was rarely to be trusted, but she could be sometimes.  
  
Today, she had determined to find Rogue and convince her that she needed help with her affliction, not a cure but to gain control before she lost it. Mystique didn't want to see Rogue suffer needlessly.  
  
Disguised as Risty Wilde, Mystique would approach and draw Rogue away from any of her friends, making up some bullshit story that the girl would believe. When they were in private, she would have to drop the falseness and persuade Rogue to come with her.  
  
But where? The Brotherhood was probably being monitored by both Xavier and Magneto, and Mystique would be a fool to go there, unless it was indeed a master plan of some sort.  
  
Another town was the best choice. Northbrook wasn't the answer, as the X- Men would be familiar with that area through Kitty, and the Brotherhood through Lance.  
  
But there was a town not far from either, but far enough: Willowdale. (AN: I made that up). Mystique could take Rogue there and show the girl everything, teach her how to survive now that she was changing. Rogue would resist at first, but would eventually depend on her mother.  
  
It was a perfect plan.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
"Quiet, it's ringing," Xavier said. "Hello? Mrs. Pryde? Professor Xavier. I was hoping to speak to you about your daughter?"  
  
Xavier let the woman speak.  
  
"Is she all right?"  
  
"Oh, she's quite fine. She has even found a nice young man for herself, I dare say."  
  
"Well that's nice!"  
  
"Actually, I called to tell you that Kitty is, oddly enough, beginning to act strangely."  
  
"Strangely how?" Mrs. Pryde asked, worried about her little girl.  
  
"Her roommate had developed a mysterious ailment a month ago, but has since recovered fairly well. Kitty has been a very good friend for her roommate, but seems to be keeping secrets from me and the others here. She refuses to speak about it, and even acts rude when asked."  
  
Mrs. Pryde's jaw dropped. "She does?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What can I do? I imagine you've tried to right her."  
  
"We have, but she refuses to cooperate. I was hoping you could speak to her, whether by telephone or some other way. Kitty needs to talk about this, because it could be very important, and I know she doesn't want to hurt anyone by keeping information that could be vital."  
  
"I'll see what I can do," Mrs. Pryde promised before hanging up.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Rogue wanted to see how she looked in the clothes the store had, but her reflection was gone, and would maybe never come back.  
  
Scowling, she trudged from the store and down to another part of the Bayville Mall, trying to find something to put her mind on. She kept thinking about drinking more blood, and the pattern was really starting to annoy her now.  
  
Absently, she wished she had Risty to talk to, to confess her problems to, but Risty had pulled another vanished act. Rogue felt alone, wanting to even be with Kitty and Lance, even if the two were having sex in public. She felt so damn lonely.  
  
She didn't look where she was going, and bumped shoulders with another girl, knocking a couple of CDs to the ground.  
  
"Sorry," Rogue said, bending down to pick up the items.  
  
"That o---Rogue?" Risty gaped.  
  
"Risty? Where were you?"  
  
The other laughed. "Long story about family tradition. Believe me, it gives headaches like mad."  
  
Rogue smirked. "I know about those things."  
  
"What happened to you, though?" Risty asked. "You look like a ghost."  
  
"I've been sick for a while now."  
  
"A while?"  
  
"Over a month."  
  
"A month?" Risty said, her jaw dropping way down.  
  
"It is REALLY complicated, and kind of spooky if you believe the possibilities."  
  
"Then let's talk, girlfriend," Risty said, pulling Rogue by the arm through some doors and into a deserted hallway that led to the restrooms. "Well?"  
  
"You won't believe me."  
  
"Rogue, you're my best friend. Why shouldn't I?"  
  
Rogue sighed. "All right. A little over a month ago, I started to feel real weak, and really hungry and thirsty. I got real pale, and I couldn't even think straight. Heck, I wasn't even able to walk on my own! I kept getting sleepy, and I kept sleeping in, and things just went weird."  
  
"Like your eyes."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Risty pointed. "You have cat's eyes."  
  
"I forgot. Anyway, I got those and the pale complexion, and I kept wanting to stop being hungry. I wasn't able to get filled until a scarfed down a bloody steak, and then drink some blood."  
  
Risty gasped. "Blood?"  
  
"Pig's blood, actually."  
  
"Yuck!"  
  
"I feel better after I drink the blood, but the effect slowly wears off, and I need more to sustain myself. I feel pretty sure that I might actually be turning into a vampire."  
  
Risty stared at her. "A real vampire?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"That's awful!"  
  
"I guess."  
  
"But something strange is going on with me too."  
  
Rogue blinked. "What is?"  
  
"I keep turning blue and changing," Risty said ominously.  
  
"You do?" Rogue said, stunned.  
  
Risty nodded, smirking even as she morphed back into Mystique. "See?"  
  
Rogue gaped. "Mystique! What are you doing here?"  
  
"Rogue, don't be stupid," Mystique said dryly. "I'm your mother; I have a right to be with you if there's a problem."  
  
Rogue scoffed. "You aren't my mother."  
  
"I am more than the one who popped you out."  
  
Rogue had to admit that was true. Her real mother never tried to make contact with her, or at least never reached her despite trying.  
  
Mystique put a hand on Rogue's shoulder, like any normal parent would. "Rogue, I really am concerned about this. You ARE becoming a vampire, and I want to help you with your problems."  
  
"Help how?" Rogue asked skeptically.  
  
"You'll need to get over any problems about drinking fresh blood, because you may have to kill someone, just like the stories say."  
  
"What? I'm not gonna do that!"  
  
"Rogue, don't you get it?" Mystique snapped. "You're turning into something you never even thought was real, and you need to make sacrifices to survive. Your friends may help you some, but that doesn't mean I can't help you too. I'm your mother, damn it, I have a right to help you!"  
  
Rogue said nothing, feeling somehow ashamed at how she had reacted to Mystique's presence. The woman was no hero, but she wasn't really evil.  
  
"Just help me," was all Rogue said.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Kitty opened the door to her room and froze.  
  
"Mom?!"  
  
Sitting on Kitty's bed, Mrs. Pryde was eyeing her daughter with a cool gaze. "Kitty, I missed you."  
  
Kitty blinked. "That's why you're here?"  
  
"No, actually. Professor Xavier called and told me that you and your roommate were sharing some secrets, and he even said that there were colorful rumors flying about."  
  
"You mean the ones that say me and Rogue are lesbians?" Kitty asked.  
  
"Kitty, I won't be angry if you like girls instead of boys---"  
  
Kitty stared, a little shocked that her mother also thought her a lesbian.  
  
"---But if your friend Rogue is having trouble that the others here want to help with, and you keep things from them, your friend could be in a lot of danger."  
  
Kitty just stood there. She had always imagined her mother would give speeches like this, or that her father would, but this was real, and she barely felt she could speak. Instead, she nodded.  
  
Mrs. Pryde put a hand on her shoulder. "Whatever you do with Rogue is fine by me, Kitty. Your sexual preference doesn't bother me; I'm your mother, and I only have unconditional love for you."  
  
"Thanks," Kitty managed to say.  
  
"Look, if you have something important to say, then say it. Your friend might need help."  
  
She left and went back home, hoping her daughter would make the right choice.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
It was seven at night, and Rogue had vanished off the map. Xavier had tried to locate her, but Cerebro wasn't finding a single trace of the girl.  
  
The other X-Men were worried that their friend had been kidnapped. In their line of work, it was entirely possible. Xavier knew he had to include that possibility, as much as he did not want to.  
  
Logan entered the study, a grim look on his face. "Found something."  
  
Xavier was hopeful.  
  
"Picked up a little of Mystique's scent at the mall, and it was mixing with Rogue's. My guess is that Stripes HAS been grabbed, or duped."  
  
Xavier sighed heavily. "We have to find her. Mystique may try and twist her back to the Brotherhood. While not exactly evil, they are very misguided."  
  
Logan nodded. "I'll get everyone looking first thing in the morning. We'll check out Northbrook, since Mystique might figure that we would dismiss the place 'cause we already know it."  
  
"A good theory," Xavier nodded. "Tomorrow, then."  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
AUTHOR: I hope that was a good chapter for y'all, because I know it was for me.  
  
READ N REVIEW! 


	6. Predator

The Truth About Rogue  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: Thanks for the reviews, all!  
  
TO cally: I don't know if it would be smart to answer that.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Chapter 6: Predator  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Logan was up early the next morning, as were Xavier and the more seasoned X- Men. Ororo was going to look around Bayville in case Mystique had stashed Rogue nearby for some reason, and Scott and the others were going to help, dividing into two teams and going with both Logan and Ororo.  
  
Xavier was to stay at the mansion and use Cerebro to try and locate either Rogue or Mystique, but the chances of that happening were none too good. Still, they had to try that avenue, just in case.  
  
"Ready?" Logan asked. He straddled his bike even as Scott gave an affirmative. He would be riding in a spare X-vehicle with Jean and Kurt. Ororo would be driving the X-Van with Bobby, Ray, and Rahne.  
  
"Let's go!" Logan yelled as he fired up the bike and popped a wheelie, shooting down the driveway and past the gates. Ororo and the others were out after him, Ororo's group splitting off and heading into Bayville.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Rogue blinked, coming to drowsily. She remembered meeting Risty, who was Mystique in disguise. The two had then gone to Mystique's car and driven for a while, with Rogue sleeping soundly to pass the time.  
  
'We must have gotten there while I was asleep,' Rogue guessed, getting up from her cot. She was in a room that could use some repair, but she was no carpenter. She walked towards the door, which was partially open, and looked out into the hallway.  
  
Rogue supposed that Mystique had a small townhouse set up, but didn't bother with it more than she had to. The place seemed fairly okay, and Rogue guessed that Mystique must have been staying here ever since abandoning the Brotherhood.  
  
Moving stealthily, the young mutant crept down the halls, careful not to make much noise. Rogue didn't want to cause any more distress than she already had, but she imagined that she would before long.  
  
The stairs creaked a little, but not much, and Rogue moved down them before she found the living room, which seemed ordinary for a regular townhouse, with a carpet and television, furniture and even a small fireplace. It seemed cozy, and Rogue was reminded of how it resembled the Brotherhood's place.  
  
"Sleep well?" Mystique asked from behind.  
  
Rogue spun and found her adopted mother watching her. The older mutant was in the disguise of Principal Darkhölme, and seemed like a mere woman at first glance.  
  
"Good enough," Rogue answered shortly.  
  
Mystique smiled. "Glad to hear it. You should keep your energy up, since you'll be needing it."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For when you hunt."  
  
"What?" Rogue blinked.  
  
Mystique laughed. "Rogue, please. Eventually, you'll need to get sustenance from a human, because I doubt you can survive off that pig's blood forever."  
  
Inwardly, the Goth admitted her mother might be correct.  
  
"And besides," Mystique continued, "I need to spend some quality time with you. We haven't been together for ages, my teenager disguise aside. We need some mother-daughter bonding."  
  
Rogue was astonished. Mystique had shown emotions for her, true, but they were always cold and backed by hatred for the X-Men. Rogue, when she had learned Mystique was her mother, had wanted for the older woman to show at least a hint of love for her.  
  
But Mystique had only shown lust for power and revenge. To Mystique, Rogue was a tool to use against her enemies, nothing more.  
  
Or at least, that's how it had been. Now, though, Rogue found herself wondering if Mystique actually wanted to connect with her lost child.  
  
"You mean that?"  
  
"Of course I do," Mystique replied matter-of-factly. "Even I have a heart."  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
"I still don't see why Kitty could come along," Bobby said. "She knows Rogue as good as anyone does."  
  
"True, but she has been less than helpful lately," Ororo said from the driver's seat. "Kitty can come when she decides to be more open."  
  
They were quiet for a minute before Ray asked, "What part of Bayville are we checking out first?"  
  
"The downtown district. It has plenty of buildings to hide people in, and Rahne can sniff out Rogue when we start searching."  
  
Rahne grimaced a little, sickened by the idea of sniffing around a dump in the city's backwater section, but she had little choice.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Logan kept his eyes---and more importantly, his nose---peeled for any trace of Mystique or Rogue. Logan knew that both females would be together, since Mystique hardly ever left a tool like Rogue far away.  
  
It disgusted Logan that Mystique would use a kid as a weapon, but the metamorph did that all the time, with the whole Brotherhood.  
  
Revving the accelerator, the X-Man kept searching. Behind him, in the spare van, Kurt, Scott, and Jean followed, keeping a distance in case their teammate fell.  
  
"I got a bad feeling about this," Kurt said, his voice sounding grim in his German accent.  
  
"So do I," Jean said. "But we need to ignore that and look for Rogue and Mystique."  
  
Up ahead, Logan slowed to a halt, lifting his visor to sniff the air. He could still pick up a little of Mystique, but Rogue's scent was something a little stronger. The Goth mutant was starting to smell like the dead, and Logan felt queasy wondering why. Still, that brand of scent lingered, easier to detect than the smell of living people.  
  
Turning his bike and motioning for the others to follow, Logan sped toward Willowdale.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
"Why are we here?" Rogue asked.  
  
Mystique had taken her to a party with lots of people Rogue's age, all of them having a good time.  
  
"Because this place has plenty of victims to choose from," the other replied. "It isn't pretty, and it isn't right or fair even, but you need to down some refreshment eventually, and I won't let you wither away because of morals."  
  
Rogue felt a little angry. Mystique might be trying to corrupt her into a killer, and use her against the X-Men. Or was something even more sinister in the works? With Mystique, nothing was ever certain.  
  
The young mutant stood still. "I don't think I like the choices."  
  
Mystique snorted. "And what WERE you expecting? Some cows from a farm, smuggled over just for you? Or maybe some more pigs, with that wonderful flavor of theirs."  
  
Rogue narrowed her eyes. "That's low, Raven."  
  
The other returned the look. "Life isn't perfect. People are, always will be, flawed. You're turning into a vampire, and you think it won't change who you are? That's almost too pathetic to be funny. Face it, Rogue, you need to adjust to things. I still remember how much you enjoyed nearly killing Scott Summers during that Geology trip, when you raced him."  
  
Rogue's anger was slowly rising. "I'm warning you."  
  
"Don't warn me. I'm capable of dealing with you, vampire or not. What you need to do is to go in there and find a victim. These people will eventually become nothing more than blood cows for you and your appetite. Get over yourself. In life, you don't always get luxuries. Come on."  
  
Not waiting up, Mystique quickly changed into her Risty disguise again and walked into the large house. Sighing, Rogue followed her mother, feeling a little unpleasant about both sides of the talk.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
"Wolfsbane, anything?" Storm asked. She looked around the interior of another room while her teammate was across the hall.  
  
"No," was the answer from the girl.  
  
"Nothing I could find down below that didn't even have a thing on it that could lead us in the right direction," Bobby scowled as he came over to them.  
  
Storm left her room, meeting them in the hall. "We need to keep searching. Rogue could be ANYWHERE. Mystique is highly intelligent, and we can't discard any possibility."  
  
Nodding, the young X-Men went back to searching, as did Storm, but the wind- rider was thinking deeply.  
  
'What do you want with her now, Mystique? Is her mutation changing? Is Rogue evolving further into the tool you crave for the revenge you so desperately want? How can such an innocent child be used like that?'  
  
Shaking her head to clear the thoughts, Storm resumed the search.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Eyes alert, senses ready for anything, Logan led the others down the road.  
  
So far, the team had spotted nothing, but that didn't mean it wasn't there. Rogue's scent still flared in his nostrils, recent, and he was sure they were on the right trail.  
  
Logan spotted a sign reading ten miles to Willowdale. If they pushed, they could make it there just before dark. That would be good, since Rogue might be sleeping in later than ever, what with her record and all as of late.  
  
Logan kept wondering what Mystique had in mind for Rogue this time. She had already tried using the kid against the X-Men and failed when Rogue found out the truth, and had defected. Perhaps the woman wanted revenge as always, or something even darker. Logan could only guess and see what happened.  
  
In the distance, he saw Willowdale light up gently in the coming dusk.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Risty led Rogue through the house, the Goth seeing the happy faces of the partygoers. Everyone was having a blast, dancing and drinking and talking. Risty pointed to a couple of guys who looked like they were here alone.  
  
In her mind, Rogue knew that suspicion was true. She had read about how vampires, in stories, had psychic powers. She didn't really believe those stories, since they were just written by horror authors, but she felt that the psychic powers were real. Maybe that part of her brain activated when she became a vampire? Jean was psychic, but that was her mutation? Did that mean that her mutant ability was actually an opened part of her brain, or what? Rogue didn't know and hardly cared at the moment.  
  
Right now, she felt her thirst slowly come back, and she knew she had to feed again. These boys would make good meals, despite her dislike of doing the deed.  
  
Walking up to the boys, Risty smiled sweetly. Rogue hung back a little, playing the part of the shy, cute, vulnerable and innocent one. The boys looked up, and both females saw they looked something alike. Twins?  
  
"Hi there!" Risty greeted happily. "My sister and I were wondering if you two fellas were here with some other girls or something, because we have bad luck with dates."  
  
The boys, one with red hair and the other with brown, looked at each other for a second before the redhead said, "No, we're alone too. Girls think we're losers."  
  
"Really?" Risty said with a gasp, and Rogue let her eyes widen a little for effect. "Why?"  
  
"Because we aren't popular jock jackasses," the brown hair said. "They only make fun of us."  
  
"You girls really alone?" the redhead asked skeptically. "I don't see how you could be. You're both chicks."  
  
Risty giggled while Rogue blushed and smiled sheepishly.  
  
"Really?" Risty asked. "Guys think I'm too nice and energetic, while my sister here is too shy and a little strange, but she is a Goth."  
  
"Really?" the brown hair asked. "I always kind of liked Goths, but never met any."  
  
"Well you're in luck!" Risty smiled as she pushed Rogue forward. "She needs a nice boy like you!"  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
In a few minutes' time, Risty was in a room with the redhead while Rogue was in another room with the brown-haired kid.  
  
And they were getting ready to get it on.  
  
Rogue pulled off her top last, her breasts bouncing a little and flung the clothing aside as he climbed on top of her. She felt the urge to have sex, the need and lust, rise rapidly. Rogue was sure that was another part of the vampire story, that they had a sexual influence about them sometimes.  
  
The two began kissing, the boy kneading her breasts while she let his tongue wander in and out of his mouth. After a couple minutes of that, he positioned himself and thrust into her.  
  
Rogue could hardly tell one thing from the next, it was so much ecstasy: First she was tossing her head side to side, moaning wildly, and then she was climaxing.  
  
The boy rested on her, completely drained from the ordeal, and Rogue's hunger took control, instincts commanding her. She sat up, rolling him off, the boy not noticing from his exhaustion, and Rogue exposed his jugular.  
  
She smiled evilly and sank her teeth in, her upper canines piercing his skin easily and drawing the blood from his jugular vein with almost no effort save for her sucking. Rogue's mouth filled with blood on each suck, and she swallowed, relishing the taste to no end.  
  
He was empty in only a few minutes, and on the last suck, Rogue opened her mouth and bit down and then jerked away, ripping his throat out. She wasn't bloody, but did have a couple lines of blood running down from the corners of her mouth onto her chest.  
  
She cleaned herself and dressed, finding Risty waiting for her outside the door.  
  
"Well, you certainly took your time," the "Brit" said before the two left. When they were outside, the conversation continued. "What was it like?"  
  
"It was...fantastic. I just kept feeling so great," Rogue admitted, surprised at herself.  
  
"And the kill?"  
  
"He won't come back."  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
Rogue looked straight at her mother. "I ripped his throat out, okay?"  
  
"Aren't we the violent one? It's probably for the best, since he wouldn't want to really be a vampire anyway. Come on, we need to get home."  
  
********************************************************************  
  
AUTHOR: Well, was it any good? I would have put more "action", but my parents were nearby. And the next few chapters will be explosive, believe me!  
  
READ N REVIEW! 


	7. Lose Yourself

The Truth About Rogue  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: Thanks for reviewing, all!  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Chapter 7: Lose Yourself  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Rogue twitched and blinked her eyes, coming to slowly. She remembered all the things she had done at the party, having sex with the boy and then sucking him dry before killing him, so that he wouldn't become a vampire like her...but what she didn't understand was why she could touch him.  
  
She supposed she could ask Mystique, but her mother already said she barely knew a thing about Rogue's real past, and would most likely say the same if asked now.  
  
Sighing, Rogue stood and blinked. She could sense it was nighttime, but she could see clear as day. It was like she had night vision. Maybe vampires had perks she didn't know about?  
  
"Rogue?" Mystique asked, poking her head into the room. She caught sight of her adopted daughter and gasped. "Your eyes!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"They're red!"  
  
Rogue blinked. "Red how?"  
  
"They just glow a faint red, like a vampire's might in some stories. European vampires had eyes like burning coals."  
  
After a pause, Rogue acted on impulse and felt around her mouth with a finger, locating her two upper canines, which had both lengthened into vampire's fangs. She opened her mouth and Mystique stared.  
  
"Too bad you can't see how cute you look with those fangs," the older mutant female said. "You might get a boyfriend."  
  
Rogue felt a pang of sorrow, and closed her mouth, looking away. She needed to get her mind off things.  
  
"What time is it?"  
  
"Eight. Why?"  
  
"I need to go somewhere," Rogue said shortly, moving to leave her room.  
  
"Wait! Where exactly are you going?"  
  
"Never you mind right now, Mystique," Rogue growled, looking her mother in the eyes.  
  
And then, as if under a spell, Mystique nodded and moved aside. Rogue was sure it was some kind of psychic influence vampire's had over their victims. She stalked out of the room.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Logan slowed the bike to a crawl and stopped, lifted up his visor and sniffed again. Rogue's scent was a tad more mottled now that they were in the city, but he was certain that, with his senses and Rogue's deathly odor, he would find her before long.  
  
In the van, Scott called up Ororo. "We found the right place. Rogue's scent leads to Willowdale, and we're there right now. Logan's tracking her scent at the moment."  
  
Ororo nodded, obviously relieved to hear that someone she considered almost a daughter had been found after being lost. "Any signs of Mystique?"  
  
"Logan said her scent was mixed with Rogue's."  
  
"Not a good thing. Mystique is extremely dangerous."  
  
"Gotcha." Scott signed off after giving her their current location.  
  
Logan motioned for them to follow, and they did. The group turned a corner and rolled down a street lined with posters for a concert. As they passed, Jean glanced at one and sighed.  
  
"What is it?" Scott asked without looking.  
  
"Eminem is having a concert here tonight," she answered. "Wish we could be there, like normal teens."  
  
Logan turned another corner further up, and Scott pressed to keep up with the older X-Man. They seemed to go in circles for a while, the layout of Willowdale confusing and closed-in.  
  
Suddenly, Logan halted, outside a plain townhouse.  
  
"Wolverine?" Scott called.  
  
Logan pointed to the townhouse.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Rogue stalked down the streets, her resolute and fierce attitude giving her a wide berth. People moved out of the way when they saw her creepy eyes and said nothing other than a few whispers, which were surely about her oddness.  
  
The Goth snorted and kept walking, ignoring the stares and talking.  
  
"Hey, are those some kind of new contacts?" a young boy her age asked, coming up and putting an arm around her shoulder like a best friend might. Rogue glared at him, but he didn't seem affected.  
  
"You don't want to know," she warned.  
  
"And why's that?" he asked happily.  
  
"Just shut up and leave me alone," she growled in an acid tone before shoving him away with one hand and storming onward.  
  
Not far down the sidewalk, Rogue stopped and looked at the posters lining the buildings and fences: Eminem was having a concert tonight, and the address was given.  
  
Rogue smiled.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
A claw popped through the keyhole, and then another one sliced down through the slit between door and doorframe, and the X-Men entered the townhouse, alert as anything.  
  
"She's here," Wolverine said.  
  
"Rogue?" Jean asked.  
  
"And Mystique."  
  
The heroes crept quietly through the townhouse, trying their best not to make a noise. It only took a few minutes to locate Mystique, who was standing in a room, apparently in some sort of trance.  
  
With a roar, Wolverine launched himself at her, and she snapped out of her thoughts, turning to face him too late. He slammed into her and she was knocked into the wall, and he pinned her there with his claws, careful to only nick her.  
  
"Where is she?" Wolverine demanded.  
  
"I don't know!" Mystique snapped.  
  
"Wolverine!" Jean said. "Just relax a second. Mystique, where is Rogue at for real?"  
  
The shapeshifter glared at Jean. "I just told you fools! She stalked out of here. I tried to keep her from doing anything, but she hypnotized me."  
  
"Hypnotized?" Cyclops said.  
  
"She's more than just a mutant now," Mystique said with a smirk.  
  
"Red," Wolverine said, an incentive to look into Mystique's mind.  
  
Jean nodded and focused, but couldn't get a thing from the madwoman. She was effectively blocking Jean like a pro.  
  
"Nothing," the telepath said. "She's got some defense in place I can't get through."  
  
"Any last words?" Wolverine grinned.  
  
Mystique's eyes widened. "You wouldn't!"  
  
"Haven't heard THOSE last words in a while." He decked her, and she slumped against the wall.  
  
"Can you find her from here?" Cyclops asked.  
  
"Easy."  
  
"Then let's go."  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Rogue found the place after asking a man who ran away from her after she had asked, and she approached the entrance gates. A big, beefy man with a security shirt on stopped her.  
  
"Got a ticket?"  
  
Rogue stared at his eyes, willing him to obey her. He seemed to lose focus on what he was doing, and she slipped by unchallenged.  
  
She gasped a little when she saw the size of the crowd in front of her, at least a couple thousand people. Rogue pushed her way through them, and a few brushed her cheek just a bit, but she didn't feel the life drain from them.  
  
'Maybe that part of my powers went to the fangs,' she guessed as she moved closer to the stage, where the famous white rapper was singing his head off to his mad fans.  
  
After a while of listening, Rogue felt the familiar, gnawing pit open up in her gut...  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
They moved quickly, using their vehicles to be less conspicuous. Logan was tracking Rogue's scent quickly, and she had apparently gotten far ahead of them.  
  
"But where's she going?" Jean asked no one in particular.  
  
It only took them a short while to find their way to the concert. Jean telepathically tricked the guards, and the X-Men snuck inside.  
  
"She could be anywhere," Cyclops said.  
  
"Better start looking," Logan said.  
  
Jean closed her eyes, focusing her thoughts and reaching out for her teammate and friend...  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
The hunger wrenched at her insides, and Rogue wrapped herself in her arms, trying to shut the pain away, to make it stop or lessen in the least. She stumbled around a little, and the hunger grew steadily stronger.  
  
She could see the hunger now, her eyes showing her the cheering crowd of fans as nothing more than the blood cows they were to vampires. Rogue tried to ignore the hunger again, but it didn't go away. She dropped to her knees, a hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming. She wanted it to end so badly.  
  
Her mouth was watering, and she staggered to a standing position, ready to begin.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Jean could sense a small number of mutants among the huge crowd numbers. No doubt people would be terrified of a mutant among them, because mutants were "dangerous", but that wasn't important right now.  
  
What was important was finding Rogue and getting her help back at the Institute. Mystique was dangerous, and would only corrupt and ultimately destroy Rogue if the young mutant did nothing to stop it, made no choices of her own.  
  
Jean had been enemies with Rogue once, back when she was both a member of the Brotherhood and when she had an interest in Scott. Jean was jealous then, but was wiser now, having learned not to be so harsh towards others. Rogue needed friends, not enemies.  
  
There! A particular aura, lined with Rogue's familiar persona---  
  
Jean gasped when she saw it happen.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Rogue sprang on the first person, and barely anyone noticed, watching the music superstar sing his worthless head off. Rogue sunk her fangs in and drank, draining the fan dry and then snapping the neck without a care, letting the body fall as she began drinking the next one...  
  
"You better lose yourself in the music, the moment, you own it, you better never let it go!" screamed Eminem.  
  
How appropriate the words were, suiting Rogue's dark ecstasy!  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Jean turned and ran from the horrific spectacle, frightened for perhaps the first time of the creatures in scary stories since she was a small girl.  
  
In her mind, she called out to her teammates: "Logan, Scott---Rogue's gone mad!"  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
AUTHOR: Oh no, Rogue's done something naughty!  
  
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	8. Frenzy

The Truth About Rogue  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: Thanks for reviewing, all!  
  
TO Freeverse: Wolverine snuck up on her, and she was in a trance. Also, Mystique was hardly "evil" in the last chapter.  
  
TO Lady MR: The red eyes are from Soul Killer, one of the X-Men novels published that I read. It has all vampires in it with red eyes, as per Marvel's brand of them or whatnot.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Chapter 8: Frenzy  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Rogue sank her fangs into one victim, sucked as quickly as possible, and then left their corpses on the ground as she moved on to the next one. The crowd, too obsessed with the rapper to care what was happening near the back, didn't notice her at all.  
  
Rogue swore there had to be at least ten bodies no, because she had been feeding like mad for a couple of minutes already. She was still hungry, and brimming with energy. Grabbing a girl fan, she bit in and drank, the girl going stiff in her grip and then limp when she was sucked dry.  
  
The Goth tossed the body aside and moved for another.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Jean was rarely horrified. At movies, things could be scary, and if someone surprised you, they could also be scary, but they were never real terrors, like now.  
  
Jean had originally considered Rogue a sworn enemy, when the other had been with the Brotherhood, but then thought of her as a friend and valued teammate when Rogue joined the X-Men.  
  
Now, however, Jean felt nothing short of pure terror at what Rogue had become and what she was doing. The redhead had seen the events happen from the eyes of another person near Rogue, who had been paying attention and ran away, breaking the connection.  
  
Jean had alerted Cyclops and Wolverine, and was waiting with bated breath for them to act. She wished she could as well, but she was too scared to move even an inch. Rogue, now a bloodthirsty vampire, made Jean's spine turn to ice.  
  
The telepath wished she could just act, be brave and face this thing that her friend had been transformed into by Mystique, as Jean imagined, but her arms and legs felt like lead, and she wasn't budging. She just stood there and waited.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Rogue snapped the youth's neck with a brutal crack, flinging him aside, advancing on the young girl who had watched the whole event, horrified out of her mind.  
  
A malevolent smile splitting her blood-stained face, Rogue took another step, about to pounce when a crimson blast smacked into her flank and sent her flying into several other people.  
  
Rogue got to her feet slowly, staring Cyclops down. Inside, her hunger was still writhing, and she felt the urge to find out what a mutant tasted like. There was a long list that came to mind, and she was sure that she would enjoy them.  
  
Especially Scott, whom she had feelings for. He had always had a place in her heart, even when she wanted to cause him pain, like she thought he had caused her. Afterwards, she started to love him, but he never acted toward her, going for Jean instead.  
  
'Psychic slut,' Rogue thought angrily, absently hoping to drink Jean and maybe even turn her to see what would happen, to see how poor Scott would react to that.  
  
"Don't move, Rogue," Cyclops warned. "Just give up and make it easy."  
  
"Now where's the fun in that?" Rogue grinned, and launched herself sideways as he blasted at her, missing and blowing a number of people off their feet and back some feet.  
  
"Now look what you gone and did," Rogue called mockingly before running through the crowd. Cyclops lost sight of her as she ducked low and FLOWED forward, realizing belatedly that she had transformed into a living mist.  
  
Rogue solidified away from her friend, and started drinking again by grabbing a youth and piercing his jugular with her fangs. She thought this one tasted kind of like an orange slice.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Storm had boarded the Blackbird with Rahne, Bobby, Ray, Professor Xavier, Beast, Roberto, Sam, and Amara. Kitty had been placed under house arrest until she cooperated properly with the others, and Xavier had made strict commands to her. She was stuck at the Institute until her parents arrived, both of them, and everything was sorted out. Kurt and Jubilee were watching over her.  
  
"Not much further now," Storm said.  
  
"Good," Xavier replied. "I keep feeling bad vibes at the thought of finding Rogue. It's an omen, perhaps."  
  
"You think she'll try and hurt us?" Sam asked.  
  
"I honestly don't know. I can only pray the she does the right thing and gives up without a fight. She's immensely powerful when she drains another mutant's powers and uses them to their fullest extent. Several mutants at once could make her unstoppable."  
  
"Scary," Amara said. "So how DO we stop her?"  
  
"Wolverine, Cyclops, and Jean will have cornered her by now, or at leas established a visual and are following her," Storm answered. "If Rogue refuses to come quietly, we'll have to fight. We have to act defensively, though, because of any possible civilians and property damage. She could be worn down, which is what we want, or, if things are too out of control, we can knock her out."  
  
"Hopefully the former is going to happen," Xavier said.  
  
"Yeah, 'cause I'd sure hate to put Rogue on ice," Bobby said.  
  
Everyone glowered at him.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Perhaps we should concentrate on the mission," Rahne suggested. "We need to mentally prepare ourselves to face a possibly extremely dangerous Rogue."  
  
"Rahne is correct," Xavier said. "Mental preparation is vital to winning battles."  
  
"I just hope that she hasn't done any harm to anyone, including herself," Ray said. "No one deserves to get sucked out of their skin."  
  
"What a way to go, eh?" Roberto grinned.  
  
"Roberto, please," Xavier frowned.  
  
"Sorry, professor."  
  
The Blackbird's engine was the only noise for a moment, before Beast asked, "Do we have any details of Rogue's affliction as of late?"  
  
"None," Xavier shook his head. "Wolverine and the others will tell us as soon as we arrive, hopefully."  
  
"With the proper diagnosis, we can produce a proper cure for Rogue's malady."  
  
"True, but not all problems have solutions," Storm said darkly.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
The screaming started after Rogue had selected a fifth victim, which was after she had relocated via her mist form. Other concert-goers saw the carnage and backed away hastily, creating a second clearing with Rogue at the center, still feeding like mad.  
  
A snikt told her to duck, and she did so, narrowly dodging Wolverine's claws as the passed by where her upper back had been. Apparently, the gruff mutant had hoped to merely get her attention on himself. Rogue smiled evilly as she dropped the body she was holding and faced her teammate.  
  
"Stripes, you get one warning before I have at you," Wolverine growled.  
  
Rogue grinned broadly. "I am SO going to enjoy this."  
  
Wolverine was just starting forward when Rogue did the same, only faster, and to the floor. He sailed overhead and she slid to a standing position in front of yet another victim, sucking them dry before he attacked again.  
  
Rogue blocked his swipe and countered with a knee to the gut, which made him grunt from her greatly increased strength. She laughed out loud and brought both hands down, locked together in a double-fist, and they hit his head, dropping him to his knees.  
  
Cyclops fired at her again, rushing forward to join the fight. The optic blast caught Rogue in the midriff, and shoved her backwards, hard. She grunted and dodged the second blast, leaping at him. He rolled to the side, and she dropped into a crouch.  
  
Standing next to Wolverine, Cyclops, as did everyone else that could, stared in horror as Rogue opened her mouth and licked her fangs, some blood trickling out from her feeding frenzy. Then, hissing, she jumped upward, surprising them as she actually transformed into a bat, beating her leathery wings as she escaped into the night.  
  
"See her?" Cyclops asked Wolverine.  
  
"She's pulling some maneuvers and if she goes lower, I could lose her," the other X-Man replied.  
  
"We need to find Jean, she can help."  
  
With that, the heroes rushed to find their teammate.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
From her new vantage point, Rogue could see everything. The crowd had finally realized what was wrong, people staring at Rogue's victims with horror-stricken faces, and the rapper had stopped singing.  
  
She squeaked like a bat did, her own little cackle, and flew lower, whipping into a tight loop before expanding it abruptly to get her further from the X-Men.  
  
Rogue suddenly spotted Jean, who was watching from one of those tunnels up in the stands. Rogue squeaked again in delight as she flew toward her next victim. She hoped Jean tasted good, maybe like fruit punch or strawberries. Well, one could only hope!  
  
Jean gave a start when the bat glided down in front of her, transforming back into Rogue. The Goth smirked as she advanced on the telepath.  
  
"Rogue, now just wait!" Jean said. "You need help! The professor is on his way here, and we can all help you get through this!"  
  
"Take a look, Jean," Rogue retorted. "I AM through it---I've turned into a full-fledged vampire, for God's sake! I suck blood, I turn into a bat, and I'm even less human than I was when I was just a mutant!"  
  
"Rogue, you need to calm down!" Jean begged. "Please, we only want to help you!"  
  
Rogue laughed. "You can help, all right...by answering the question of what flavor you are."  
  
With superhuman speed and strength, Rogue grabbed Jean by the throat with one hand and held her against the tunnel wall, the redhead's feet a couple of inches above the ground.  
  
Jean watched, horrified, as Rogue licked her fangs for a second time and then leaned in. At first, Rogue merely pressed them against Jean's skin, and the other felt the sharp points. Then Rogue drove down, and the fangs pierced the flesh, sinking into the jugular and earning a gasp from Jean.  
  
Rogue sucked once, filling her mouth with hot blood that did taste like the best strawberries and just a hint of banana. Jean closed her eyes, enraptured by the wonderful sensation Rogue was producing from sucking her blood.  
  
"Jean!" Cyclops yelled, causing Rogue to stop and spot him just before she was blown off her feet and ten yards back by a hard blast. Jean touched the ground and slid to a sitting position, slumped against the wall. She blacked out.  
  
Cyclops hurried forward, but only glimpsed Rogue as the latter swung herself over the railing of the exterior walkway lining this level of the concert stadium. Cyclops cursed, furious at what had happened. He hurried back to Jean and studied her.  
  
A section of her neck on the costume had been torn open, which had allowed Rogue her drink. There was a set of puncture wounds, two holes with think ribbons of blood running out of them and down the neck of Jean's outfit, staining it.  
  
Cyclops set to work helping his friend, Wolverine coming up at last.  
  
"What kept you?" he asked.  
  
"Don't ask. Rogue?"  
  
"Over the railing."  
  
"Jean?"  
  
"I think she'll live, but I don't know how much Rogue took from her, so I can't be sure if she'll go vampire as well."  
  
Wolverine nodded and leapt over the railing without even stopping. He landed at ground level, shaken from the drop but recovering quickly. Sniffing, he found a scent he knew as Rogue's and hurried in that direction.  
  
Before he had gone ten feet, however, a voice boomed down on him.  
  
"Wolverine!" Storm's amplified voice spoke from the Blackbird. "Allow us to help."  
  
"She went that way!" he called up, pointing with his claws.  
  
As the majority of X-Men dropped down, Storm and Xavier turned the Blackbird about and went in the direction Wolverine had shown them.  
  
"What's the news?" Roberto asked.  
  
"Rogue's officially a mass murderer," Wolverine answered shortly, earning shocked looks. "She's faster and stronger than she should be, and she doesn't look pretty, all blood-stained. She bit Jean, and Cyclops is watching after her. We're on Rogue."  
  
"Lead the way, O Fearless Leader," Beast quipped as they took off.  
  
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AUTHOR: That was something, wasn't it? I hope everyone likes it, and I WILL explain Rogue's madness later, so bear on until then!  
  
READ N REVIEW! 


	9. Berserk

The Truth About Rogue  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: Thanks for the reviews, all!  
  
TO ALL: I might take a break from writing this to get other fics out of the way, but reviews for them will make that task go quicker, so do your duty as fans (or whatever)!  
  
TO Trunks-Girl: Is "AWK" meaning Away from Keyboard? I don't know this code.  
  
TO Lady MR: Like I said, it's Marvel's brand of vampire. And the explanation should be in this chapter, or one of the ones after it.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Chapter 9: Berserk  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Storm gasped, slowing the Blackbird.  
  
"What is it, Ororo?" Xavier asked.  
  
"Wolverine can handle Rogue with the others, but Jean and Scott might need help."  
  
"Turn around; we need to help them first."  
  
Storm nodded and did as told.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Jean was in a terrible place in her mind, chased around by inner demons, and ones that Rogue might even have created or put in her when Jean had been bitten.  
  
The telepath was horrified at the idea of becoming a vampire like her former teammate now was. If vampires were so horrible, she wanted nothing to do with them.  
  
In her mind, she was suffering endlessly. There were flashes of pain and light, and she was screaming in her mind, and she started to hallucinate.  
  
Almost definitely because of Rogue, Jean began seeing everything related to vampires. She saw old castles and wolves, werewolves, bats, seductive women and men with fangs, old movies and images she read from books.  
  
But worst of all were the parts where she saw herself being a vampire.  
  
Rogue's drinking had been heaven for Jean, even though it was a black deed. It felt so good that Jean wanted it again. And just as much, she wanted to drink for herself, to taste another's life.  
  
There was another flash as she was put into the viewpoint persona...  
  
Jean licked her fangs, which had lengthened to their inch-long size, and strode over to the obvious victim, a young man her age with his back to her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and turned him to face her, and didn't seem disturbed at all that Scott was the young man.  
  
Jean smiled, her fangs showing, and Scott gaped in horror, pulling out of her embrace and making a run for it. But Jean was now faster and stronger than any normal human, and most mutants even.  
  
With preternatural reflexes, she leapt onto his back, pinning him to the floor. She sank her fangs into his neck, and he slowly stopped struggling. Jean, however, was reveling too much in her feeding to care about that minor detail. Blood filled her mouth and she swallowed---  
  
Jean snapped awake abruptly, startling the other X-Men. She was confused and scared, and didn't recognize that she was with friends and in the Blackbird. She began struggling against the straps that were keeping her in her medical bed, trying to escape and hide from the vampires and the horror of it all.  
  
"Jean, calm down!" Scott begged. He tried to stop her from doing herself harm by struggling. "It's okay! You're safe!"  
  
He had to repeat this several times before she calmed down and looked at him. Jean quickly put her arms around him, grateful to be safe at last.  
  
"Jean, what happened?" Xavier asked from the cockpit.  
  
It took a moment for Jean to find her voice. "Rogue, she's a vampire. A real one. She drained a bunch of people and then bit me."  
  
Storm and Xavier were shocked wordless.  
  
Finally, Storm spoke into the silence.  
  
"Rogue is a vampire?"  
  
"Fangs and everything," Scott said grimly. "I saw it myself. She can even shapeshift."  
  
"And the people she attacked?" Storm was afraid of the answer.  
  
"Dead, if not turning into the undead themselves," Jean said weakly.  
  
"You said Rogue bit you?" Xavier said.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Xavier was silent, and Storm asked, "Charles, what is it?"  
  
"If any of those legends or stories are true, Jean might now have a connection with Rogue."  
  
"What?" Jean and Scott said as one.  
  
"I believe it could be that, having been bitten, Jean might become a vampire herself. From what I have heard, such vampires have a sort of link with their makers."  
  
"Charles, you can't seriously be suggesting that Jean try and find Rogue like that?" Storm asked, stunned at him.  
  
"If we have to, then what choice do we have?" Xavier countered. "It sickens me as well, but if such a link exists, we have to use it."  
  
This was too much for Jean, who promptly passed out.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
"Well, it seems Rogue has turned into quite the little engine of destruction," Beast said.  
  
"Thank you for pointing that out, Beast," Wolverine said dryly.  
  
The team had been following Rogue for a full ten minutes, and had been doing so by using the trail of destroyed items she was leaving in her wake: Cars, ATM machines, parking meters, street lamps, and various other things had been smashed in her rampage.  
  
"Got her scent again," Wolverine said to the group from his position at point. "She's close ahead."  
  
The words were hardly out of his mouth when a mailbox flew through a store window. They all looked to see their mad teammate not far from where it was thrown, having moved on, and they moved in.  
  
She must have heard them coming, because she turned around and bared her fangs at them. A small surprise was that Rogue was now wearing her costume, which had been among her missing possessions from when she hadn't come home that night.  
  
"My God," Roberto said in Spanish. "She isn't human."  
  
"That's not important," Wolverine snapped. "Just catch her!"  
  
Berzerker fired a quick blast at Rogue, trying hard not to overdo it from fear, but she easily dodged and landed atop a car roof. Magma tried to attack, but Rogue, now a vampire and fearful of fire, leapt out of her line of attack and straight at Sunspot.  
  
Startled, he ignited himself and took to the air. Rogue leapt high and snagged his left ankle, trying to jerk him back down, but Beast tackled her. The two smashed into the side of a car, and Rogue was briefly stunned. Beast took advantage of that and put her in a headlock.  
  
"Rogue, listen to me!" he begged. He had gone temporarily mad when his wild side had gone physical, and he knew Rogue would survive as he had. "You have to control yourself! We are your teammates and friends!"  
  
But Rogue seemed too far-gone for talk, and turned herself into a vapor form, slipping free of his hold. He blinked for a second as she solidified and grabbed Iceman. Licking her fangs maliciously, she was about to have a drink when Wolfsbane jumped onto her back, biting her in the shoulder.  
  
Rogue snarled at the feral mutant and tossed Iceman aside, spinning around to dislodge the wolf-mutant. Wolfsbane was thrown off-balance and hit the road, scampering out of the way as Rogue swiped at her to get a hold.  
  
Wolverine jumped her, and found they were evenly matched in muscles. Rogue's new strength was steadily overcoming his own, and he needed a new plan. But Rogue kicked a field goal and he was forced to take a breather.  
  
"Sit down for a sec, will ya?" Cannonball asked Rogue as he flew into her and stopped abruptly. She smacked into a wall and slid to the ground, slumping against the brick of the store's front side.  
  
"Is she down or what?" Magma asked.  
  
"Talk about hard," Berzerker said. "Never thought she'd be that tough."  
  
"Overconfidence is a deadly ally," Beast said grimly.  
  
Just as they started towards her, she snapped awake and stood up slowly. Rogue seemed barely hurt by the fight, and ready for another.  
  
"I think we're in trouble," Iceman said.  
  
But when Rogue leapt at them, she transformed into a bat and took to the air, escaping.  
  
"After her!" Wolverine ordered.  
  
Sunspot and Cannonball did that, catching up with the vampire.  
  
'You don't want to catch me,' a voice told them. 'You're perfectly happy letting me go.'  
  
Their minds didn't protest, and the boys slowed to a crawl, the bat disappearing into the cityscape.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
"Got away?" Xavier said, thunderstruck. "But how?"  
  
"Ask these two," Logan growled, pushing Roberto and Sam forward. "They were the ones that let it happen."  
  
"It wasn't our fault!" Sam protested. "She tricked us!"  
  
"That's right, Professor," Roberto agreed. "Rogue's a vampire, right? She used telepathy or something."  
  
Xavier sighed heavily. "I can't blame you two for Rogue manipulating you. She's more dangerous than ever before."  
  
Ororo entered the study, looking grim. "Charles, there is a pair of policemen here to ask you questions about Rogue."  
  
Xavier could hardly believe what was happening. He might actually have to use his influence to make things less awful, although he never liked to do that.  
  
"I'll be there."  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
"So this 'Rogue' is one of your students, then?" Officer Walker asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You have any idea where she learned how to do all that stuff she did?" the other cop, Officer Dent, asked.  
  
"None."  
  
"Have any idea why she would kill anyone at all?"  
  
"I confess that I don't."  
  
The officers were very stiff, and Xavier could sense that they didn't like him or this place since hearing about Rogue's feeding frenzy.  
  
"Do you have any idea where she might be at the moment?" Walker asked.  
  
"Other than Willowdale, none."  
  
"We'll be in contact," Dent said, leaving with his partner.  
  
As Xavier was passing the living room, he noticed what looked like all his students watching the television, which was showing a news report. Interested, he entered the room and watched as well.  
  
"...Death count stand at nineteen, the gruesome deaths attributed to a renegade mutant named, appropriately, Rogue. This Rogue is being sought after by police officers across the state, and borders and being watched closely. Upon examination, the victims were revealed to be drained of blood, with two puncture wounds in the neck. Although some believe this Rogue to be a vampire, many more are pushing for mutant countermeasures..."  
  
"God, people can be so pathetic," Jubilee said, changing the channel. "It's not Rogue's fault."  
  
"It's the hunger, I'm betting," Bobby said. "She got overpowered by the crowd's life and just couldn't resist the temptation of all that blood."  
  
"Where is Kurt?" Xavier asked.  
  
"In his room," Rahne answered. "He's been depressed ever since hearing about this. They've been repeating it on all the channels."  
  
Xavier nodded and headed upstairs. Ororo met him there.  
  
"Charles, perhaps I should talk with him."  
  
"Is there any particular reason?"  
  
"A woman's touch."  
  
"If you wish."  
  
Ororo knocked, heard a faint mumbling, and decided to enter. Kurt was crouching on the balcony's railing, staring into the distance.  
  
"Kurt, how do you feel?"  
  
"How do you THINK I feel?"  
  
"Kurt, you do not have to take that tone with me simply because of this," Ororo said scathingly. "Rogue is not killing people due to her own free will."  
  
Kurt looked at her. "It's just that...after all this time I find my family, and they vanish. My mother is no mother at all, and my sister turns into something terrible."  
  
Ororo put a hand on his shoulder. "I know how it is, but you need to remember that they are you family, and that they matter. Try and reach them, and they may reach back."  
  
Kurt sighed. "I hope. A goblin, a faceless manipulator, and a vampire. Not exactly the best family there is, eh?"  
  
"There are worse."  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Jean stood in the bathroom, door securely locked, and examined herself. She looked almost like she always did, save for the bandage covering the bite Rogue gave her. She gulped and tentatively touched it, wincing slightly at doing so.  
  
It felt funny, almost like having a couple if pimples on her neck, and she half-wanted to keep touching. But they were vampire bite marks, not pimples. Jean kept imagining that she would stop seeing her reflection, would have shimmering red eyes like Rogue, pale-to-marble-white skin as well, and those fangs. Plus the morphing.  
  
Jean shuddered. Being a vampire seemed a terrible prospect at the moment, and she was faced with it, since Rogue had bitten her.  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
Rogue stormed around the room. "This is best you can do? I'm a wanted mass murderer out there!"  
  
"What did you expect, the Hilton?" Mystique snapped. "Be grateful we aren't dead!"  
  
"Oh, funny!" Rogue growled. "I'm dead, and you have to mention that!"  
  
"The dead stay in the graves, Rogue! Vampires are the undead!" (AN: Technically, that is 100% correct).  
  
"Watch it!" Rogue warned. "You may be my adopted mother, but I'll bite you!"  
  
"I can't believe this! My own daughter threatening me!"  
  
"I bet that you'd make an interesting vampire, Mystique, even though you'd probably taste like apple sauce or something. Yuck."  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
AUTHOR: Well, that was fun, I hope.  
  
READ N REVIEW! 


	10. Lay The Blame

The Truth About Rogue  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: Sorry for the wait but I was very busy!  
  
TO Lady MR: Patience, young Jedi.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Chapter 10: Lay The Blame  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The X-Men returned home the worse for wear, battered and beaten---and by their own teammate, their own FRIEND. Rogue had been proven a vampire now, and Kurt was crushed that his only other family member was a mass murderer. He felt sorry for her, and had trouble coming out of his room.  
  
In the rest of the world, people were acting with hostility toward the Institute and its charges. The kids had gone back to school the next day, a little worn but otherwise fine.  
  
Not twenty minutes later, they had returned, angry at being tossed out of school because of their crazed friend. The other kids had not liked what Rogue did, and everyone knew she went to the Institute. All of the mutants there were forced from public.  
  
Jean already shut herself away after coming back. The bite was getting to her, and she was starting to jump at shadows in broad daylight. Xavier, Ororo, Logan, Hank, and Scott had tried to talk with her, but she would shove them away.  
  
Kitty was becoming more of a problem than before. She seemed almost proud that Rogue was causing all kinds of trouble from her feeding frenzy.  
  
Parents everywhere, especially those of the murdered children, were outraged at the lack of action toward Xavier. The police could find no evidence to show that the professor was responsible for anything, and the courts wouldn't try any case related to this, lawsuit or no. Xavier was simply not responsible for Rogue's rampage.  
  
The students were forced to be home schooled, which taxed the staff more than usual. But with all the anger towards mutants, they had little choice.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
In another location, Rogue was learning to control her hunger. As night fell, she woke up and stretched, heading out for a meal. She had kept her uniform and her Goth clothes, still proud of who she was, even though the authorities would be looking for her.  
  
A young girl, maybe a couple of years younger than Rogue was, sat on a bench reading some novel. Rogue approached her carefully, hoping not to scare her prey off.  
  
"Don't bother," the girl said, making Rogue blink. "I know all about you, Rogue."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"That rampage you went on in Willowdale was something, I'll admit. It has a lot of people talking---humans, vampires, werewolves, the rest and all that."  
  
Rogue blinked. "I didn't think there were many others."  
  
"And why would such a silly thought get into your head?" the girl asked.  
  
"I was just changing...I didn't think straight at all, let alone about other vampires."  
  
The girl actually smiled at her. "Well, there are many vampires, Rogue. Your mother was one."  
  
"My mother?" Rogue asked, starting.  
  
The girl nodded. "Everyone remembers your mother, Rogue---she was the one who caused a lot of other vampires to die when they told her falling in love with your father was a stupid decision."  
  
"DO you know my parents?" Rogue asked hopefully.  
  
"To a degree."  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
The girl smiled again. "My name is Karen. I only look young because I was turned into a vampire eighty years ago, when I was fourteen."  
  
"I supposed you were that young."  
  
The girl laughed. "Come on; I can show you to your mother."  
  
Rogue started again. "She's here?"  
  
Karen laughed. "Of course, silly! She's been trying to find you ever since she lost you! When she heard about that mass murder you pulled, she headed to Willowdale immediately and picked up your trail through some friends of hers."  
  
Rogue was silent for a moment. Her mother was alive and looking for her? "Where is she?"  
  
Karen gestured. "I'll show you."  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Remy stepped up to Evan, even though he wasn't facing him. "Remy looking for someone."  
  
Evan jumped and looked at him. "Who are you?"  
  
"You met Remy that one time."  
  
"Oh yeah, with the Sentinel."  
  
Remy shrugged.  
  
"What do you want this time?"  
  
The Cajun smiled. "Just to talk to Rogue is all."  
  
Evan blinked. "But, Rogue's gone. She isn't at the Institute or with the Brotherhood."  
  
Remy studied the kid. "Really? Remy been back home for a while, and hasn't been listening too well to the news."  
  
Evan nodded. "Yeah. She vanished into thin air."  
  
Remy nodded. "And what about those killings?"  
  
Evan smiled shakily. "She's not in the right frame of mind, if you know what I mean."  
  
Remy nodded again and turned to leave.  
  
Evan called after him, "Where you going?"  
  
"To find the girl."  
  
******************************************************************  
  
AUTHOR: Hope that was good! READ N REVIEW! 


	11. The Offer

The Truth About Rogue  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: Sorry for the wait and thanks for the reviews!  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Chapter 11: The Offer  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
At his base, Magneto was contemplating. Xavier was an old friend of his, one of the only real friends Magneto even had left. True, the man was a fool to try and make peace when war was inevitable, but he was highly intelligent. Magneto felt it was time to reach out and touch someone.  
  
Who knew? Maybe Xavier---or, at least, his students---would see the light of Magneto's truth and join the real side, fighting to save mutants the only way possible. After all, the reactions to Rogue's massacre had proven that humans were incapable of forgiving and forgetting, or even trying to understand the situation; they put the blame on mutants and never mentioned vampires.  
  
Oh, Magneto knew that vampires had everything to do with this. The Master of Magnetism knew a great many things, such as the fact that the vampires of the world would have their way with Rogue, and he would do well if he stayed out of the matter. She had fought for him once and had turned. Now that she was a vampire, she would most likely side with her bloodsucking brothers and sisters than rejoin him.  
  
Sighing heavily, Magneto rose. He would gather the Acolytes and make for Bayville. Charles would listen to him, there was no doubt of that, but the professor would not let the words sink in. The X-Men, however, might believe him. They might even join him, or at least the Brotherhood, and eventually work their way up. Magneto was still master of the Brotherhood of Mutants, although he relied on the Acolytes more now.  
  
And speaking of reliable Acolytes, where had Gambit gotten to? The Cajun thief had gone back south for some personal business, and then vanished. Magneto decided he would ask about the man when he got to Bayville. After all, the entire world seemed to revolve around Bayville.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Karen pointed. "Right there, Rogue."  
  
The girl didn't move, but stood transfixed as she stared at her birth mother. With waist-length black hair, red eyes with slit pupils, and a white-as-marble complexion, Jessica Ritter sat in her booth brooding to herself.  
  
Seeing Rogue's obvious hesitance, Karen strode over to the woman and spoke briefly to her. Rogue caught only a few words: "Daughter", "massacre", "vampire", and "found."  
  
Moving Karen aside, Jessica stepped out of the booth, and Rogue and her mother stared at each other for a long, silent moment. Then, as though it were rehearsed, they lunged forward and embraced each other dearly. Separating, they sat in the booth, Karen heading off to her own devices.  
  
"And here I was thinking you'd vanished again!" Jessica breathed. "My word, you are a sight for immortal eyes!"  
  
Rogue smiled. "Thanks, Mama."  
  
Jessica blinked. "Where did you get that accent?"  
  
"The South---I was raised in Mississippi. My adopted mother, Mystique, left me in the care of a friend of hers. When my mutant abilities manifested, I panicked and just lost it. Mystique took me into the Brotherhood and I turned into a nasty person. I almost helped kill someone when I touched Mystique and learned the truth, or some of it. She tried to stop me from leaving, and I kind of almost killed her.  
  
"When we were rescued, I switched sides and joined the X-Men. Even though I had problems with them, and sort of still do, they're a better family than the Brotherhood. Those losers only used me. When I started to turn into a vampire, I was losing my mind. I didn't eat much or drink much either, and eventually stopped eating altogether. My friend helped me out, getting me some drinks when I needed them. I kept changing, though, and here I am."  
  
There was a pause before Jessica put a hand on Rogue's shoulder. "I know it's hard; it always is. I was born a vampire. Your father was a human, and a lot of people were against us being together unless I turned him. When I didn't, they got angry. I had to fight them while Arnold took you to America. You were born there, yes, but we moved to a temporary apartment in England. I dealt with the other vampires while Arnold and you were safe from harm.  
  
"Arnold lost you when he was killed in a car accident, how incredibly stupid that sounds. I came here and looked for you, but this Mystique woman you mentioned did what she did, and you didn't even have a name."  
  
"No wonder she always called me Rogue."  
  
Jessica blinked in surprise. "You don't remember your real name? You knew it when we parted."  
  
Rogue shook her head.  
  
"Well, since it is your name, you have a right to know it: You are Alicia Ritter, my daughter."  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Xavier was in his study, pondering the next move, when the alarms went off. Wheeling about, he activated Cerebro and gasped: Magneto had returned to Bayville, and with his Acolytes accompanying him.  
  
'X-Men, gather yourselves. Magneto has come.'  
  
Throughout the Institute, the mutants suited up for what was most likely a battle. As they rushed outside, they saw Colossus, Pyro, Sabretooth, and Magneto emerge from large metal spheres. The X-Men took battle stances.  
  
"Don't bother, children," Magneto said. "I have come to talk, not fight."  
  
"Oh?" Cyclops said. "That's a little hard to swallow."  
  
"Indeed it is, but I assure you that I do not want a fight."  
  
"What DO you want, Magnus?" Xavier asked as the X-Men parted to let him through.  
  
"As I have said, to talk. In times like these, conversation is very worthwhile."  
  
"True, but what sort of discussion would you have?"  
  
"I want to make the X-Men an offer, that is all."  
  
"An offer?" Xavier repeated.  
  
Magneto nodded. His plan was working smoothly so far. "I want to extend my hand to any of you that should need it. After that massacre in Willowdale, all mutants are being persecuted even worse than they already were. We need to band together to survive, and the only way to do that is to cooperate with one another. The X-Men alone cannot last long in a storm such as the one humanity will unleash upon the mutant population. Therefore, I wish to offer any who desire to the chance of joining either the Acolytes or the Brotherhood."  
  
Xavier stared at Magneto, as did the X-Men. Picking up on their emotions with his telepathy, Xavier felt his team was torn between staying and going.  
  
"And what would you have them do, Magnus?"  
  
"Survive, really."  
  
"Through any means necessary?" Xavier pressed.  
  
"Charles, please. You would do the same thing and you know it, or why else would you have forged your X-Men? I know your reasons as well as you know mine."  
  
"Perhaps, but we each have different reasons. We will be given time to think on this, I assume?"  
  
"Of course. I wouldn't dare expect such a decision so quickly."  
  
Gesturing to his crew, Magneto left.  
  
Steadily, the X-Men went back inside. Most of them were thinking about the offer, and what it would be like in either of Magneto's groups. A few, though, were firm in their decision to stay with the X-Men: Scott, Jean, Logan, Ororo, and Kurt. They wouldn't leave Xavier for just about anything.  
  
"Should we tell Kitty?" Ororo asked Xavier.  
  
"No. She might use the chance against us, and Rogue has already caused enough damage. If the girl finds out, then we'll act in response, I suppose."  
  
"And speaking of Rogue, do we have any idea where to find her?"  
  
"I think we do. Ready the others."  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Rogue was sitting on a bench in that same park from earlier when he appeared. She must not have been paying attention, or she would have easily known he was there.  
  
"Hello, chere," Gambit said. "Long time no see."  
  
"Huh?" she said, looking at him.  
  
"The Sentinel," Gambit said helpfully.  
  
"Oh, you had the card," she remembered. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Gambit shrugged. "Came to find you."  
  
"Me? But why?"  
  
"Because Gambit like you."  
  
"You like me?" she repeated slowly.  
  
"Yep. Gambit saw the news report and wanted to find out what was wrong with you. Not everyday you kill a lot of people."  
  
Rogue looked solemn. "Not everyday you find out you're a vampire, either."  
  
Gambit blinked. "Vampire?"  
  
"You know what a vampire is, right?"  
  
Gambit nodded. "Heard of them, yeah."  
  
"Well, turns out my mother was a vampire, so I'm half-vamp, my dad's dead, and now I need to be a normal vampire because I've turned into one."  
  
Gambit put a hand on her shoulder. "Gambit's sorry, chere. I got problems myself."  
  
Rogue sniffed. "Like what?"  
  
"Gambit's wife wants him home more often."  
  
Rogue blinked. "Your wife?"  
  
Gambit held up a hand, showing the ring. "Belladonna a nice woman, even if she a little commanding."  
  
Rogue looked away, staring at the ground. "And here I was hoping for you to be my friend. I kind of liked you when we first met, even though you were with Magneto."  
  
Gambit smiled. "That's real sweet of you, chere. Gambit likes you too, but he already got a wife. Sorry."  
  
Rogue shrugged. "It's all right. I'm a vampire, so I got problems myself."  
  
"Like tanning," Gambit smiled.  
  
Rogue snorted and doubled over, laughing.  
  
"Thanks, I needed a good joke to cheer me up some. What now?"  
  
Gambit sighed. "I'm real sorry, chere, but I gotta go back down south after I leave here. Belladonna waiting for me, and she real nasty when I don't show up on time."  
  
Rogue laughed. "You are so whipped."  
  
Gambit grinned. "At least Gambit's not made of snow." It was a reference to her pure-white complexion.  
  
"I guess I'll see you sometime. Where are you from?"  
  
"New Orleans. Careful though, it dangerous down there."  
  
He left after that.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
"Do you really think they'll join us?" Mastermind asked Magneto upon the latter's return. "They most likely have strong feelings for their current affiliation."  
  
"Charles will see that the humans hate us mutants no end soon enough," Magneto replied casually. "At that point, he'll come to me for help. The children will follow like lambs, and become the wolves they need to be in order to protect our kind."  
  
"I hope so. They are formidable even without us backing them."  
  
"You worry too much."  
  
"I plan for the worst case scenario, my lord."  
  
"In any event, things are proceeding, and we will win one day."  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
AUTHOR: Oh boy, now things are getting really interesting!  
  
READ N REVIEW! 


	12. My New Family

The Truth About Rogue  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: Sorry for the wait and thanks for the reviews!  
  
TO Lady MR: Sorry about the lack of Remy-Rogue, but this series is mostly about Gothic truths to our favorite people, and Gothic tales depict the heroine as doomed. Rogue is double-doomed in that she is a vampire and her life is falling apart.  
  
TO Cassie-bear01: Losing steam? You're mad. That chapter was a break from everything else.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Chapter 12: My New Family  
  
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/  
  
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/  
  
The X-Men had finally learned of a location where Rogue was at, and were heading there at the moment. Kurt, Hank, Xavier, Logan, Scott, Ororo, Jean, and Evan were going straight to the town where Rogue was. Kitty was being carefully watched by the other mutants back at the mansion, under tight orders from Xavier. She couldn't be trusted, the professor had explained to the others. Everyone reluctantly agreed once they recalled how Kitty had begun acting differently.  
  
Rogue was most likely still highly dangerous, so the mutants had brought along only the most experienced members of the team, the original X-Men. Xavier could recall when Rogue had first manifested her powers, and the X- Men had tried very hard to get her on their side. She would have been among them now, had she joined them in the past. The thought made the professor sigh inwardly.  
  
"Professor?" Ororo asked as she piloted the Blackbird to their destination. "Do you really expect Rogue to come back?"  
  
"I seriously doubt it, Ororo," Xavier answered flatly. "She's a mass murderer, a vampire, and has most likely undergone other experiences lately without our knowledge of them. There is a definite chance that she will stay where she is."  
  
"But why are we going there, then?"  
  
"For answers. Rogue needs to give us some straight answers as to who and what she is."  
  
Ororo stared at him for a moment before going back to piloting.  
  
In the back, the others were talking amongst themselves over the "mission."  
  
"What do we do when we find her?" Evan asked. "I could probably pull a good Buffy on her."  
  
"Don't even try it," Kurt growled. "Vampire nothing, she's still MY sister."  
  
"All right, all right," Evan said, backing down. "I didn't mean it."  
  
"I say we question her," Jean said. "She bit me! I could turn into a damn vamp myself! My parents will have kittens!"  
  
"Nothing bad is going to happen to you or your parents, Jean," Scott assured the redhead. "Rogue will probably let a few facts slip if we talk casually with her, anyway."  
  
"Really?" Evan asked. "That kind of makes her sound like a sucker or something."  
  
He stopped speaking at Kurt's death glare.  
  
"I sure hope she talks," Jean said quietly. Absently, she ran her fingers over the fresh bandage that she had placed on the puncture wounds from Rogue.  
  
"We'll fix everything, Jean," Scott promised. "No one's going to let you become a vampire."  
  
"Let us dearly hope she doesn't become a creature of darkness," Beast said, leaning into the small huddle. "While it may seem like a wonderful thing, our dear friend Rogue has demonstrated most effectively that being a vampire has massive drawbacks as well as perks."  
  
"Thanks, Hank," Jean said with a weak smile.  
  
"I am ever at your service, Madam," he said with a small bow.  
  
"Do YOU think we'll have to fight Rogue again, Hank?" Evan asked.  
  
"Hopefully not. Such a thing would be very unfortunate for us all, and not just because she trashed us very well the last time we met. Rogue, though, is a good girl at heart, and I doubt she would shoot first and ask questions later."  
  
"Let's hope so," Scott said.  
  
"Yeah, but if we do gotta ice her..." Evan began to say.  
  
"Evan, just drop it!" Kurt snapped. "Nobody ices my sister!"  
  
"I would hope not," Hank smiled.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Rogue blinked, waking up in a bed in a room. She had been staying with her mother for a while now, ever since that other vampire girl had introduced them to each other. Jessica had taken her daughter to a privately-owned club in a seedy section of town, where vampires could stay if they needed a place. Jessica and Rogue shared a room, and the mutant was glad she could still sleep in a real bed and not a coffin.  
  
Yawning, she got up and dressed, keeping silent and not waking her mother. The older vampire had tired herself out talking about days long gone, and about Rogue, last night, and had earned a rest. Rogue finished putting on her gloves and left the room, heading downstairs, through the club, and outside to catch a breath of fresh air.  
  
She looked up at the snow-white moon with her glinting golden eyes, the slit-pupils making her seem more enticing than ever. Idly, she wondered if the others would ever find her.  
  
"Hello, Rogue," a German-accented voice says, interrupting her musings and making her start. She rounded on Nightcrawler, who was crouched on a mailbox not ten feet away.  
  
"Kurt?" she blinked, staring at him in surprise. He had to have snuck up using those stealth abilities of his, otherwise she would have sensed him coming. "Why are you here?"  
  
"To talk to you, for one thing," Jean said as she floated down from above. "We need some answers, Rogue."  
  
"We all do, actually," Xavier said as he and the others approached from behind a row of tall hedges.  
  
"Answers to what?" Rogue asked.  
  
"Questions, really, such as why you haven't bothered to contact us for so long," Xavier responded.  
  
Rogue took a deep breath before answering. "I didn't talk to you guys because I was still recovering from the shock of everything. I was turning into a damn vampire, what the hell was I supposed to do? I just stayed with Mystique until I met some other vamp who introduced me to my mother."  
  
"Your mother?" Storm gasped. "Who?"  
  
"Jessica Ritter. And she was nice enough to tell me my real name is Alicia Ritter."  
  
"What else?" Scott asked. "That can't be the only thing that kept you from coming back to Bayville and telling us."  
  
"It wasn't," Rogue agreed. "I still need to adapt to the whole vampire world and all that crap, so I decided to stay with my mother. She's really great, once you get to know her."  
  
"But what about me?" Kurt complained. "I'm your brother!"  
  
"I was adopted, Kurt," Rogue reminded the elf.  
  
"It still counts!"  
  
"God, you sound like a little kid," Jean said, and then caught herself. "Oh, sorry, Rogue, I forgot."  
  
Rogue shrugged. "Hearing that name isn't going to vaporize me or anything. A Bible, maybe, but not a name."  
  
"Well, that's a blessing, wouldn't you agree?" Beast asked Xavier.  
  
"I suppose so."  
  
"Rogue, what about me?" Jean asked seriously. "You DID bite me."  
  
"It won't turn you, Jean," Rogue said flatly. "I didn't take that much blood."  
  
"Oh. Thanks," Jean said, sighing heavily in relief.  
  
"No problem." The Goth turned to head back into the club when Storm called to her.  
  
"Rogue, wait! What will happen now that you have gone this far?"  
  
Rogue shrugged. "I don't really know. I'm no psychic, and I sure ain't omniscient. I guess I'll stay with my mother for a while longer, and then maybe I'll visit you guys back in Bayville. This is only a club, so there's no room for you all here."  
  
"Will you write to us or something while you're away?" Kurt asked hopefully.  
  
"I'll do what I can, jeez!" Rogue said.  
  
"One last thing, Rogue, before we leave you alone," Xavier said. "Keep an eye out for Magneto. He may try and use this to his advantage. As noble as his intentions are, he is blinded by revenge."  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Sure."  
  
Kurt bounded over to her. "Uh, I was kind of hoping for at least a goodbye hug."  
  
Rogue chuckled and they hugged. Even though she was a vampire, they were still family. When they broke apart, Rogue said, "I'll miss you until next time, Kurt."  
  
"And I, you."  
  
"Touching," Evan yawned, and was promptly whacked upside the head by Jean.  
  
Rogue went back inside the club, leaving the heroes to their devices. Upon returning to the Institute, they were immediately met by Kitty, who was eager for answers.  
  
"Well, what was she like?" the girl asked.  
  
It took some time, but the others told her everything except where to find Rogue.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
AUTHOR: Might be a little lousy with the ending, but oh well!  
  
READ N REVIEW! 


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